


What's Left Behind

by Sushimom



Series: What's Left Behind [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:57:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 29,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11395797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sushimom/pseuds/Sushimom
Summary: Here lies Jack Morrison Commander OverwatchIt was a lie.A part of her wished it wasn't. To know that at least part of him was here. Another part of her wanted to smash it. To erase the lie.But she didn't. She just stood and stared.





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing that filtered through the darkness was pain, centered mostly in her head. Slowly she started to notice other things, the monotonous beeping of medical equipment, the slightly stifling feeling of an oxygen mask, another hand on her own.

Angela slowly opened her eyes, bright lights causing a fresh throb through her head. 

“Ange?” whispered a small voice on her left.

Gingerly, Angela turned her head to see Lena Oxton, whom she had become close to over the last month, a worried look marring her girlish features. Angela offered her a weak smile.

“I'm going to get the doctor, love.” Lena said, patting the back of Angela's hand before leaving the room in a flash.

Angela took the moment of relative quiet to look around the room. She recognized the layout and machinery from her time working as head of surgery here at Zurich National Hospital. 

She puzzled. She couldn't remember why she was here, what had happened, but judging by the pain in her head, she'd wager a concussion was the reason for the lost memories.

The door slid open again, her old colleague, Dr. Bossard, smiling warmly at her.

“Good to see you awake, Dr. Ziegler.” He said, “I have to apologize. I'm afraid that our facilities aren't up to the same standards you are used to.”

Angela smiled at him, closing her eyes against the throbbing for a moment, wondering why she wasn't being treated at headquarters by her medical team.

“You suffered a hairline fracture of your skull and a pretty nasty concussion as well but the rest of you seems to be ok. Just some bumps and bruises that we've already healed.” He explained.

“What happened?” Angela said, her voice dry and raspy.

“I think I'll let Ms. Oxton handle that.” He said, finishing her vitals and leaving the room.

Lena fell back into the chair next to the bed, something obviously very wrong.

“Please.” Angela begged. She had to know what had happened.

“It's all gone, love.” She said, voice quavering with emotion, “They're still trying to determine what exactly happened, but we do know that there was an explosion at headquarters. Reinhart pulled you out of the rubble of your office.” Tears streaming down her face as she held Angela's hand.

Angela's eyes went wide. The building had collapsed. How many people that she knew had died. How many more people would die without her out there. 

Angela started to sit up, trying to ignore the pain in her head, reaching with her free hand to start peeling off the heart monitor. Lena started pushing her back down.

“You can't leave, Ange! You're still hurt.”

Angela's anger sparked, “I will be fine! I have to get out there!”

“I know you want to get out there and help, but you need to be ok first. I can't take you out there with a skull fracture. You'd only be a liability.”

Angela sagged back, head pounding now, “I need my caduceus. If I have that I'll be fine.”

Lena sat back, voice going soft, “Reinhart and Torbjorn are looking. They're trying to get as many people out as they can. They should be stopping by soon to check in.”

Angela felt helpless. She hated feeling helpless. She looked back at Lena's sad face.

“Do we know anything else?”

The pain in Lena's eyes was unmistakable, “They haven't found Commander Morrison or Reyes.”

Angela felt like she was falling, everything falling away as her brain struggled to understand. They hadn't been found. They could still be alive. Angela's heart was pounding in her chest, her need to get out there an there turning from an urge to a panic. Her hands tore at the patches on her chest, trying to throw her legs over the edge of the bed.

Lena snapped into action, grabbing the medics hands and pinning them down at her sides and climbing to use her own body weight to keep Angela in the bed.

“I need a doctor in here!” Lena called out to the hallway. 

A pair of nurses ran in, one of them grabbing a syringe and pushing a mild sedative into the IV.

Angela's panic ebbed as the medication worked its way through her. She relaxed back into the bed, Lena sliding off of her, still holding her hand.

“I know, love, I know.” She soothed, stroking Angela's hair, “I'm sure they'll find Commander Morrison.” 

Angela's eyes slid shut, trusting her close friend, the only person she had told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela woke up, hearing Reinhart speaking to Lena.

“... still ongoing. They've found a couple of more people alive, but there are many dead.” He rumbled. 

Angela opened her eyes. Her old friend looked haggard and tired.

“You look like you need some sleep.” She said quietly.

Reinhart turned to the bed, a tired smile spreading across his usually cheery face.

“How are you feeling Angela?” He asked.

“Feeling better now. What's going on?” She asked.

Reinhart's face fell, betraying the bad news, “We still haven't found any signs of Commander Morrison or Reyes. It's...” His voice trailed off, searching for the right words, “Es ist nicht gut aussehen.” (It's not looking good.)

Tears started to roll down Angela's face. How could this have happened? Why couldn't they find Jack? A sob escaped her lips.

“I did find this though.” Reinhart said softly, reaching behind him and placing her Caduceus acrossed her legs, “I know you would have wanted it.”

“Thank you my friend.” She sobbed, almost uncontrollably now.

Reinhart nodded, “I have to go back now. There's still work to be done.” He said with a sigh, turning and leaving.

Angela couldn't stop the sobs anymore and curled herself up around her staff, feeling Lena slide in behind her and just holding her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A couple of hours later, Angela was sliding her arms through her white uniform that Lena had brought, and settled her Valkyrie suit over her shoulders. Once she had cried herself out, she had used her staff to heal her skull fracture and was preparing to head out of the hospital and offer her assistance to those still working on the scene. Lena pulled her hair up out of her suit and into a pony tail. 

Angela thanked Dr. Bossard on her way out and flew out toward the destruction, Lena zipping along ahead of her. Her heart sank again as she saw the scale of the destruction. She saw Reinhart amongst the rubble, lifting and moving slabs of concrete that should have taken heavy machinery. She trained her healing beam on him, flying to his side.

“It's nice to see you up and about, doctor. That feels wonderful to these old bones.” He said.

“I'm glad to help. Call for me if you need another boost.” She replied, flying off, training her beam on each worker as she went. 

She heard Torbjorn shouting from somewhere to her left. She boosted herself over the remains of a wall to see him cradling the head of an unconscious woman, legs still pinned in the rubble. Angela trained her Caduceus onto her still form, her nanite technology quickly going to works on the woman's wounds as another group came over to lift the concrete off of her legs. The woman began to wake, and groaned as the weight was shifted, Torbjorn pulling her free. They carried her off to the waiting ambulances.

Angela flew off to the next patient, trying desperately not to let her emotions overtake her with each body pulled from the rubble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Exhaustion filled Angela so thoroughly she didn't have any room to feel anything else. She sank down onto a bench in one of the emergency personnel tents, pulling out her mobile to see if there was any news from anywhere else. 

Curiously the text notification was flashing. Angela hadn't heard it go off so she pulled up the text. It was from Dr. Bossad asking her to call him immediately.

Lena came into the tent, plopping down next to her with a tired huff, unwrapping an energy bar as she read Angela's phone.

“Wonder wot that's about?” She said around a mouthful of nuts and granola.

“I have no idea.” Angela replied quietly, pressing the call button.

The phone rang twice before her colleague's voice greeted her.

“Hello doctor. You told me to call you as soon as I could.” Angela said.

“Oh yes. I got the results back from some blood work we ran. Standard stuff, and while I know this isn't the best time, you need to know.” He said slightly ominously, “I'm afraid the report indicates that you are pregnant.”

The phone slipped from Angela's hand, clattering onto the metal bench as her mind completely shut down.

Lena snatched up the phone, quickly talking to the doctor, trying to find out what had happened, an identical look of shock spreading on her face.

Angela just sat there, body completely numb, the word running through her head over and over.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

Lena grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a rough shake, trying to snap her out of it.

“Ange, love. Ange. Come on and talk to me love.” She said firmly.

“I'm pregnant.” She said, stunned.

“I know love. I know.” Lena said, a relieved note to her voice as she pulled her friend in close, “We'll figure this out.”


	2. Chapter 2

Angela stood, surrounded by her makeshift family, staring at the bright white marble that was Jack Morrison's tombstone, one of thousands at Arlington National Cemetary. She felt hollow. They had never found his body. He wasn't here. It was just a piece of marble. Nothing more.

She barely registered the words that Reinhart was speaking. She barely reacted when Lena put her arms around her. She barely anything right now.

Her eyes flicked up, watching the General hand the flag to his parents, their faces stained with tears just as hers was, before going back to the gravestone in front of her.

Here lies Jack Morrison Commander Overwatch

It was a lie. 

A part of her wished it wasn't. To know that at least part of him was here. Another part of her wanted to smash it. To erase the lie.

But she didn't. She just stood and stared.

She hadn't told anyone else about the pregnancy. Her grief was too pressing at the moment for anything else to really take hold. Lena was making sure she was taking care of herself, but even that was a struggle. She barely ate anything. Her hair had been a tangled mess. Lena had even climbed into the shower with her this morning to make sure she was properly cleaned up.

Half of her felt that the world was so dark without Jack there that there was nothing else left for her. Ever since she had joined Overwatch at his behest, he had inspired her, encouraged her and comforted her. He had become her light. The other half knowing she still had work to do, people to save. It gave her the tiniest spark amongst the blackness. She couldn't just give up. It was her calling in life to improve medical treatment and to save as many lives as was humanly possible.

But he had been better than human.

Angela nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of gunfire. A line of American service men were firing off a salute to the Great American Hero. Jolted out of her stupor, everything came rushing at her once again. She felt like she was drowning in it.

Unable to handle the sudden surge of emotions, a sob wrenched its way past her gritted teeth. Angela bolted from the memorial, tears streaming in her wake as she ran through a sea of white gravestones. She just kept running and running, brain racing, seeing his name on every stone she passed. Somehow finding her way back to the rental car they had arrived in through the haze of tears.

Angela climbed into the back and curled around her knees, everything poring out of her. She felt like she was breaking apart under the weight of her grief. She squeezed her legs tighter as if trying to hold together the pieces of her shattered heart and knowing she'd never be able to squeeze hard enough to close up the hole in her heart.

Angela didn't notice a woman, dressed in black approaching her, a slightly worried look on her face.

“Are you Angela Ziegler?” She asked timidly.

Angela brought her head up. It was Jack's mother. 

“Yes.” She sniffed, trying to at least compose herself a bit. She unfurled her legs, standing and offering her hand to the only other person who would have loved him as deeply as she did.

Mrs. Morrison took her hand in her own, squeezing it tight as her own tears began to fall again, “My dear, Jack told us so much about you.”

Angela was a bit taken aback. Jack hadn't told her he'd told anyone about their relationship, much less his parents.

“Oh umm. He spoke of you quite a bit as well.” She said, fumbling over her words.

Mrs. Morrison pulled Angela in for a hug, “I'm so glad that he had you. That he was happy before...”

Angela was crying again now, “I can't imagine how hard this must be for you. To lose a child.”

Mrs. Morrison pulled back, “That was Jack though. He was always meant for more that our lowly farm life.”

She and Angela sat in the grass near the car, talking about happier days, trying to forget the pain and sadness, if only for a moment. Angela let out a small laugh at a story of Jack as a child, jumping off the roof of their home, pretending to be Superman. She couldn't bring herself to tell her of the child she carried. She still didn't have a plan. She'd been barely getting through each day.

Mr. Morrison came around the tree, introducing himself to Angela, others making their way to their own vehicles, the service now over.

She couldn't believe that this was how she was meeting them. They were such wonderful people. She wished that she'd been able to come to their farm with Jack. She wished she could tell them they were going to have a grandchild. She wished that so much was different. But this was how things were. 

“I'm so sorry that we couldn't have met before. Would it be ok if I wrote to you if I find anything out?” Angela asked, feeling marginally better after talking with Mrs. Morrison.

“Of course, dear. I would love to hear from you.” She smiled, patting Angela's cheek, “I don't want you to cry too much. Jack was always telling everyone to soldier on and I think he'd want you to at least try to be happy again.”

Angela nodded sadly, embracing her again before turning to the car and climbing in with Lena and Genji. She ran a hand over her stomach, no bump yet, heart breaking for her child who would never know his father.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lena sat on a white couch, petting Angela's hair as she lay in her lap, in a rental house she'd secured. Oslo was far enough away from he hubbub of the UN and the collapse of Overwatch that they could come together without attracting too much attention.

Reinhart and Winston, feeling slightly cramped, stood next to the fireplace, while Torbjorn took the recliner.

“What's going on Lena?” Winston asked his young friend worriedly.

Lena glanced down at Ange one last time, tucking a stray lock behind her ear, taking a deep breath, “We have some information that you all need to know. This must not reach anyone else. Lives are at risk here.” She said, noticing the unease among the group, “We need to make a plan for Angela's safety.”

Reinhart looked puzzled, “Why do we need to do that? Shouldn't she just be able to resume her work as a doctor?”

“Angela is pregnant.”

The group gasped. It had been rumored that she and Jack had been an item, but with the rules about fraternization, they had done their best to keep it under wraps. Their attraction had been clear to anyone who looked a little closer.

“It's Commander Morrison's, isn't it?” Torbjorn asked.

Angela sat up, looking more like death warmed over than her former, beautiful self, “Yes.”

“If Talon finds out...” Winston started.

“That's why this can never get out. We need to find a way to keep them safe and hidden.” Lena stated with a hard edge to her voice.

They all sat silently for a moment, trying to figure out what the best move would be. Angela felt as if there was no where Talon's claws wouldn't be able to reach her.

Reinhart was the first to say anything, “Well since Angela speaks German, I would like to offer her a home with my family in Stuttgart. She would blend in there and be able to work at the hospital if she wished.”

“We should change her appearance if we really want to hide her away. She's always been on all the posters, right alongside all of us.” Lena supplied.

“I think it would be the best option as well.” Said Torbjorn.

“Is this okay with you, Angela?” Winston asked, “I could make you a fake ID and medical credentials.”

Angela gave her old friend a weak smile, “Thank you so much, Reinhart. I would love to stay with your family.”

“We'll make sure that you and your child are safe.” Said the old German warrior, with a fond smile.

“I'll have to get to work then.” Winston said, walking over to give Angela a quick hug, “Be sure to call me if you need anything.”

Angela nodded.

Torbjorn rose as well, “I'll set up some covert turrets until you leave. No one will be able to sneak up.”

“I'll go and make the arrangements then. My family will love you.” Reinhart said.

The all went to take care of what was needed, leaving her and Lena on the couch. Lena pulled her close.

“Let's go get you cleaned up, love. Then we can go to the store and buy some stuff to change up your look a bit.”

Angela meekly followed her to the bathroom and stripped out of her clothes. Lena ran steaming water into the large jacuzzi tub. Angela stepped in, looking down at her just visible bump, and sinking into the heavenly water. She felt Lena slip in behind her, grabbing the wash cloth and the soap.

“This should work out well.” Lena said, trying to be upbeat, “I'm sure you'll feel right at home there.”

Lena, dunked the wash cloth, lathering it up with body was and set to work gently rubbing away at her ivory skin.

Angela sighed, just wanting to lose herself in the pleasing sensations. Lena moved on from her skin to her hair, taking her time to make sure her friend would look presentable when they went to the store. Angela loved the way Lena's fingers felt working thorough her hair, needing to be taken care of until the grief didn't feel so overwhelming.

“Alright love, lay back so I can rinse your hair.” Lena instructed.

Angela laid back in the water, staring up at the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

“Wow Ange. You really need to get some sleep.” She said, “You've got dark circles a mile wide.”

Angela gave her a sad smile, “I'll try. I just keep dreaming about him and it makes it so much worse when I wake up and he's not there.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela stared at the aisle full of different colors of dye. She had never been one to change things. She loved the stability she'd had at Overwatch. She'd never needed to worry about funding for her next medical breakthrough, she'd always had a place to call home, and she always had Jack.

No. She couldn't think about him.

Shaking her head to rid herself of painful memories and focus on the boxes in front of her. Would she look good with red hair? No it stood out too much. Dirty blonde was too close to her platinum locks for anyone to be fooled for long.

She just grabbed a box of dark brown and left to find Lena. The pair of them grabbed the rest of what they'd need and went back to their temporary house. Torbjorn had finished with the defenses and Reinhart had messaged them with their travel plans. They had 2 days until she flew out for Stuttgart.

Winston should have her papers in order by then, but right now they had to focus on disguising her. Lena prepped the supplies and took her time, making sure that it wouldn't look sloppy. 

“This color will look great on you, love.”

Angela sighed and sat down in the chair in front of the mirror. She really did need sleep. She couldn't keep running on 2 hours a night. It wasn't good for her.

It wasn't good for her child. Angela told herself she needed to start thinking about her child's well being instead of wallowing in grief.

Lena worked on her hair, taking her time to make sure it looked perfect, even coloring her eyebrows. Lena snapped the plastic cap over her dye drenched hair and set about trying to distract her friend. She pulled out the laptop, putting on their favorite guilty pleasure movie, an old 20th century comedy called Down Periscope.

The humor made Angela smile while Lena laughed with abandon. They listened as Lena washed the dye from her hair, revealing luscious chocolate brown where once there had been platinum. Angela looked at herself in the mirror right as her favorite line came up.

'Whiskey, thins down the mix, gives us an extra 50rpms.'

Angela let out a laugh at the line, catching her friend off guard as she rubbed the water from her hair.

Tears sprung to Lena's eyes, “You have no idea how good it feels to hear you laugh again.”

Angela grabbed one of her hands, bringing it in and placing a kiss to her palm, “You have been the best friend I've ever had. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Lena grabbed her friend around the shoulders in a crushing hug, “I love you Ange. You helped me deal with my Coronal Displacement. I don't know what I would have done without you then. I'm just repaying the favor.”

They finished the movie in the bathroom, both of them tired as they went to their rooms. 

Angela took a sleeping pill as she climbed under the plush covers. Sleep came to her for the first time in awhile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next day was a whir of preparations. Lena wouldn't be joining her on the flight to Stuttgart as she was too noticeable with her Coronal Harness. Angela would fly alone.

Winston arrived with her new identity, one Dr. Angie Koffel, and a set of brown contact lenses to aid in her disguise.

Reinhart's family would be told that she was there in hiding but that was all. They wouldn't know her real name or the reason she needed to be hidden. The home was shared by his brother, Kleiner and his family. His wife Evaline was a seamstress, sewing up beautiful dresses for the wealthy in Stuttgart. Their home was outside the city, set on almost 25 acres of plains and woodlands. They had several cottages on the property for when extended family came. Angela would be given one of these for herself.

Reinhart explained everything in great detail, pulling up pictures of his 7 nieces and nephews on his holopad as he did.

The home was only about a 15 minute drive from the hospital where she should be able to secure a job. That made sure she wasn't too exposed on her commute. He had even thought to buy a vehicle for her to use.

Angela pulled the giant of a man into a hug, “Thank you so much for everything, Rein. Your family sounds wonderful and I can't wait to meet them.”

He patted the doctor on the back, “Lord knows you've saved me enough times. It's the least I could do.”


	3. Chapter 3

Angela took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh summer air as she strolled through the field awash with wildflowers in bloom. She ran her hand over her prominent belly, feeling her child kick, always active and strong. She smiled lovingly down at her bump. She hadn't even met her child and she was already hopelessly in love. Everything that had happened and everything she knew she was going to happen, was worth it to have a little piece of her and Jack in the world.

And she couldn't have asked for a better place to hide. Reinhart's family were some of the kindest people she had ever met, accepting her into their home without reserve. She adored the children, often caring for them so that Eva could work on her latest project. 

But for right now she was just enjoying the beautiful spring day before she went into labor. She was due any day now, Lena and Winston arriving later that day to assist in the impending delivery. She didn't want to risk delivering her child in hospital, trying to keep there from being record revealing the existence of Jack Morrison's child if she was found out.

She hadn't even been in for an ultrasound. She didn't even know what her child was going to be.

But none of that mattered as long as she had a happy and healthy baby.

Angela sank down into the flowers, indulging in their sweet scent.

Jack would have been so happy, here, with them. She imagined him there next to her, lying in the flowers, running a hand over her swollen stomach, one of his beautiful smiles plastered to his face. Angela indulged herself in fantasy for a bit, imagining what Jack would say. What names would he want for his child? 

It was something that she was struggling with. She had decided that if it was a girl she was going to name her Amara Robyn after her old friend, Ana, whom they had lost shortly after Jack, but she was struggling so with a name for a son. 

Every time she tried to think of a name, all she could see was a beautiful baby boy with a tuft of blonde hair and the bluest eyes, Jack reflected in all of his features, and it broke her heart. She couldn't name him after his father. That would just bring up too many painful memories, but it felt wrong to have a child who she was almost certain would look just like him, given a name that his father hadn't chosen. 

A tear rolled from the corner of her eye into the grass below, her heart aching for the man she'd never see again.

Sighing, Angela struggled to her feet, belly making it considerably more difficult to do, and started to make her way back through the field towards her cottage. Maybe Lena would be able to help her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela looked up from her book as she heard a squeal from her doorway. Lena tackled her friend she hadn't seen in six months.

“Oh my gosh love! Your belly is huge!” She gushed, lovingly rubbing her hand over the bump.

“I've missed you too, Lena.” Angela laughed.

Lena bounced up, a slightly more serious look coming over her face, “How've you been Ange?”

“I'm doing better. I still miss him terribly but I'm doing better.” Angela replied sadly, trying to smile for her friend.

“Well you need to tell me everything that's been going on! I need details!” Lena said excitedly, climbing onto the couch next to her and asking everything that she'd been wondering for the last 6 months. 

Before long Winston joined them. They needed to go over plans for labor and delivery. They hadn't sent anything more than the most basic information, fearing that it may end up in Talon's hands, so they had waited to discuss everything in person.

Angela laid out the plan she had been working on. She had procured the equipment they would need and she would deliver here in the cottage. Winston would deliver and Lena was assist where neccisary. They would work today to clear out the living room and make it into a proper medical facility.

Winston took over moving the furniture as Lena curled up with Angela on the bed.

“Hey, Lena.” Angela said softly, “I need your help.”

“You know I'd do anything for you.” Lena soothed.

Tears sprang into her eyes, “I..” She started, hormones making her overly emotional, “I can't pick a name. What if I have a boy? What if he looks just like Jack? What am I supposed to do?” She finished with a wail.

“Take a deep breath, love.” Lena said, “We'll start at the beginning and work our way through it. Have you had any ideas?”

Angela sniffed, “I don't think I could handle naming him after his father. I don't think I'm ready for that, but I also feel like it's like I'm trying to forget him if I don't.”

“We all know that you could never forget him. He touched something inside all of us. He made us into the best we could possibly be to protect the world. Maybe you could compromise by only using a middle name?” Lena said sweetly, a smile spreading at the thought of how her commander had inspired her to push herself to be the best.

Angela sat quietly, thinking about a beautiful baby boy with a german first name and having his father's name as a middle name. She smiled.

“I think that would work. I've always loved the name Bren.” She said, mulling things through in her head, “Brennan Jack.”

“Are you going to use your last name?” Lena asked

A peeved look crossed Angela's face, “I think I'll have to. It would be too obvious to Talon if he or she was a Morrison.”

“Have you decided on a girls name yet?”

Angela smiled, “If it's a girl, she'll be Amara Robyn. After Ana.”

“That's beautiful!” Lena squeeled, “So Amara Robyn or Brennan Jack.”

Lena leaned over to coo at her friends baby belly, “You hear that little one? You need to come out so we'll know what your name is. Don't keep us waiting.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Angela was spending some time with the children in the house, all of them infinitely amused by Lena blinking around. This was one of the things she loved the most about being here with them. She was trying to iron some of the children's clothing to fold and put away, helping their ever busy mother. 

The youngest, a girl of only 2 years, came up to her.

“What do you need, Greta, dear?” She asked.

Greta held out her hands, wanting to be picked up. The little girl was always wanting cuddles, by far more than the other children, but that was fine with her. She enjoyed the girl. It made her want her own child to come. The examinations they'd done yesterday had shown that she was even closer to going into labor than they had thought. It had been fortunate that her friends had arrived in time. 

Angela reached down to the girl, grasping her under the arms and hefting her up to her hip.

A sharp pain, lanced through her stomach with the movement, drawing an anguished cry from the pregnant woman, who pulled the child close as not to drop her.

Lena was at her side in a second, taking the child and handing her to her eldest brother, telling another to run and get his mother.

Angela was gripping her stomach as the pain radiated through her entire abdomen. She sank to the floor, realizing that there was a puddle at her feet as the pain began to ease.

“Winston!” Lena yelled, one of the children beginning to cry as their mother rushed in.

Winston saw what was going on and immediately scooped Angela up into his large hands, rushing towards her cottage as Lena raced ahead, opening the door for them.

Another contraction began, Angela curling in on herself against the pain. Winston laid her onto the hospital bed that now occupied her living room, and left to grab a few of his things while Lena helped her out of her wet clothes.

“It's going to be ok. We'll get through this.” Lena soothed as the contraction ebbed.

Angela laid there, collecting her thoughts for a moment between contractions. God she wished he was her. 

Winston returned and began hooking up the monitors and prepping the equipment he thought he may need. 

“Just breath love.” Lena told her, knowing they could be here for a very long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lena wiped the sweat from Angela's face, trying to keep her friend as comfortable as possible. They were almost 12 hours in and night had fallen hours ago. Evaline had brought some food for them and said to call her if they needed anything.

Winston came back in, having stepped away for an hour to catch some sleep before the delivery, and looked over the latest data from the monitors.

“How are you feeling Angela?” He asked.

“I feel lots of pressure and the contractions are closer together now.” She gritted out, “It shouldn't be long now.”

“I agree. We should set up the equipment for baby.” He replied, moving to set up the tiny bed with it's infra red lamp to keep her newly born child warm.

Another contraction ripped at her body, this one worse than the ones that had been coming, finally cracking the medical professional persona she had been trying to stay in to feel some sort of control. She wailed in pain as it intensified.

“I can't do this.” She sobbed, “I need Jack. I can't do this alone.”

Lena climbed into the bed with her, “You're not alone love. I know that I'm not Jack but I'm here for you. We both love you. You're not alone.” She whispered into her friend's hair, holding her close, heart breaking for her friend.

“Alright, Angela. It's time to start pushing. Baby's head is close.” Winston said calmly as the contraction faded.

Angela nodded and shifted herself into position for the final stage. 

“You'll get to see your baby soon! Think about how wonderful that will be! I can't wait to see him or her!” Lena encouraged, trying to lift her friend's spirits.

Lena took Angela's hand as the next contraction came on.

“Alright, now push.” Instructed Winston.

Angela pushed with everything she had, yelling out with the pain and effort.

This repeated, over and over, Angela trying to find the strength to keep going with every push.

“Alright Angela, this should be it. One more good push and baby will be here.” Winston said, trying to help his friend find the strength to finish.

Angela was breathing hard, drenched in sweat as she pulled herself onto her elbows feeling the contraction coming.

“Alright, love. Let's meet your baby.” Lena said.

With a scream, Angela pushed, harder and harder, until suddenly the pressure was gone and she collapsed back.

A tiny cry pierced her heart, knowing her baby was breathing and healthy.

“You have a son, Angela.” Winston said quietly, in awe of the perfect little thing in his hands, before wrapping him in a warm towel and handing him to his mother.

Lena helped her sit the bed up as she reached for her child, pulling him to her chest.

Angela started crying. He was so beautiful. She could see his father in his features already, but she could see some of the softness from her face there as well. She used a corner of the towel to wipe some of the blood away from his face and hair, laughing through her tears at the way his tiny face scrunched up in protest. He had a tiny wisp of bright blond hair on his head and a round, cherubic face.

“He's beautiful, Ange.” Lena said lovingly, “Although how could he not be with parents like his.”

Angela smiled through her tears, knowing that Jack would have loved him dearly.

“Your daddy would be so happy right now, meine liebe Bren.” 

Lena held her as she cried, both happy and desperately sad at the same time.


	4. Chapter 4

Winston and Lena had to leave two days later. They were too recognizable to stay for long without drawing unwanted attention. Angela and Lena had cried, neither one wanting to go. 

“I promise I'll visit as soon as I can!” Lena said, pressing a kiss to her friend's cheek and then the baby's.

“You'd better. You're the only family I have.” Angela told her, trying to regain some sort of composure.

Their tears finally roused the baby from his nap with a wail, squirming in his mother's arms, forcing the goodbye to an end.

“I need to go and feed him. I'll see you soon.” She said, turning back to her cottage as Lena got into the car with Winston.

It felt so empty without them here she realized as she settled in to feed the baby. She watched as her son suckled and thought about his father for the millionth time. He should have been here.

Angela thought of his parents. She had said she would write to them, but had never done so. She wanted them to know about little Bren. They deserved to know that their family hadn't died with Jack.

Once his striking blue eyes slid shut once again, she laid him into his cot and went to her table, grabbing a paper and pen to write to the grandparents of her son. Apprehension filled her as she tried to think of what to write without putting them or her at risk.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Morrison,

I am writing you today, though I can't tell you from where, to tell you something wonderful. I know that these last months must have been some of the most difficult for you as they have for me, but I want you to know that there is a light in the darkness.

I have a son. His name is Bren and that is all I can say without endangering us. He is so perfect and I know you would love him. He has beautiful blue eyes and the blondest hair.

I know it's not much but I thought you deserved to know.

With my love,

A

Angela read through it again to make sure that she hadn't slipped up anywhere before going to her laptop and printing off a rather angelic picture of him that Lena had snagged while he was sleeping. She slid them into an envelope and sealed it. She addressed it with no return address and laid it on the table.

Angela desperately hoped they would understand why she couldn't say much. Reinhart had stopped by a few months back and had said that Talon had sent Widowmaker to assassinate someone claiming to be Dr. Angela Zeigler in Switzerland. Angela knew they had wanted her, preferably alive so they could twist her into one of their evil creations, but they would kill her in a heartbeat.

And she knew they'd do the same with the child of the famous super soldier, Jack Morrison. They would corrupt everything good inside of him and turn him into their own personal killing machine to terrorize the world with.

Angela was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her laptop ding. Angela had taken a small swab of her son's cheek to get an idea of what a child of someone like Jack would be.

She pulled up the full read out. It was unlike anything she'd seen before. Her son shared almost 2/3 of his DNA with his father, the super soldier serum having altered him to the point he passed it on to his child overwhelmingly. All of their genetic alterations were present in Bren, the superior strength, speed and reflexes should manifest in her son.

Fear coursed through her as she realized how much danger they would be in if this ever got out.

Angela tried to push her fears aside. They were safe for now. That was what mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Mr. Morrison walked into their quaint kitchen, seeing his wife kneading out bread dough on the island.

“Oh you're back? How're the animals? Any calves yet?” She asked beaming at her husband.

“Not yet but there's one that looks like she could drop any minute.” He replied, pulling the mail out of his pocket and looking through it, tossing out the junk. 

He paused at one. A handwritten envelope with no return address, posted from Berlin. He set the rest of the mail down on the table.

“I wonder what this is?” He said, flipping his knife open.

“What honey?” His wife asked, washing the flour from her hands.

“We got a letter from somewhere in Germany. No return address or name on it.” He told her, pulling out the letter inside. A small square of paper fluttered to the floor.

He stooped down to retrieve it as he read the letter his eyes widening in shock.

“Hey, Deb, get over here!” He shouted, eyes moving from the letter to the picture in his hands, handing the letter off to his wife as she came rushing over.

“Oh!” She said, legs giving out, dropping her to the floor.

He sank down next to her, handing her the picture as tears started pouring down her face. She snatched the picture from him, sobbing as she saw her grandson. 

“Oh John.” Was all she could say, the two of them staring at the picture.

“If I didn't know better, I'd say it was Jack.” John said, trying to hold back tears of his own.

“He looks just like him.” Deb cried.

John stood, helping his wife to her feet, and took her over to their refrigerator, still covered in little magnetic pictures of their son from school. Deb put the baby up there, next to her favorite picture of Jack, missing his front teeth, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela stood in the bathroom of her cottage, hair covered in plastic as she dyed it once again. She had to keep her cover. Bren, now almost 6 months old, sat in his chair on the counter in front of her as she worked, giggling at his mother as she painted her eyebrows.

He was already crawling around everywhere and trying to take his first steps. It seemed that the super soldier serum boosted his development as well. He was already wearing clothes meant for a one year old. 

She had recently started back to work at the hospital, part time, needing to get out of the house more. Eva and the kids simply adored him and he was nearly always happy. Lena had managed to come by a few times, each time amazed by how much he had grown and how far ahead he was. It had been shocking when she had thought back, realizing that he had never once been sick.

Angela had scoured everything at her disposal, but the United State's was always very hush hush on any information regarding their super soldiers, so she had no other instances of their children to learn from. 

She had detail ever part of his stunning development from a medical stand point on her laptop, but kept it locked away.

She looked back at her son, and frowned lightly. She knew that it would be better for their cover if she colored his hair to match hers. 

But every time she got close to going through with it, she couldn't bring herself to change a thing about him. He looked every bit like his father and the pain was still too raw to be able to change that.

Angela shook her head,eliciting a fresh laugh from her son, as she washed her coloring supplies and picked him up.

They walked to the living room while her dye set, Bren clambering to get down and play with his dinosaurs.

Setting him on the floor, Angela walked over to her laptop, seeing a message from Winston.

Recent reports indicate evidence that the outlaw we've been watching is actually Reyes. I don't know anything more than that. Flying out to investigate.

Angela's heart about stopped in her chest. Gabriel had been presumed dead along with Jack. If Winston had sent her a message, that had to mean that they evidence was strong. The man they had been following was a new agent for Talon. He seemed to be less man than wraith, able to dissolve his body into mist to infiltrate anywhere and nearly impossible to wound.

If it was Reyes, what had Talon done to him?

An all too familiar twinge of fear invaded her thoughts, moving to pick up her son and go back to the bathroom to rinse her hair.

She knew Reyes had always been jealous of Jack. He had even asked her out on a date, even though it was against regulations, while she was with Jack. She had politely declined of course, but she felt Jack stiffen next to her and the look on Gabriel's face made her wonder if he knew and did it just to get at Jack.

If it was Reyes, what would he do, now completely lost, if he knew Jack had a son?

Angela buckled Bren into his chair and set to work on her hair, brain chewing on this new information.


	5. Chapter 5

Angela sat in her wooden rocking chair, rocking Bren while singing in German. She had planned on sending another picture to Jack's parents today but the news about Reyes had her on edge. All the information she'd seen online had showed this wraith like man to be a ruthless killer, most attacks leaving no one alive, only a pair of shot guns thrown to the side as proof that he had been there.

There were whispers that he was calling himself Reaper and if it was in fact Gabriel and he'd joined Talon, every former Overwatch agent was in danger. Lena had told her about several lower ranking agents having been attacked and killed. She wondered if they were connected to Reyes.

Angela looked down at her son, now sleeping peacefully in her arms. She placed a kiss to his still very blonde hair, and went to put him in his bed.

She knew she had an early shift at the hospital in the morning and wouldn't be there when he awoke, but she didn't go to bed.

She went to her laptop and opened her secure messaging program. Typing in her password it popped up pictures of her closest friends. She decided to call Reinhart, hoping he would have more information.

The app rang a couple of time, popping up the old warriors face when he answered.

“Angela! It's so good to see you!” He said jovially, “How's your sweet boy?”

“He's doing fantastically, progressing even faster than expected. He'll be walking soon.” She told him.

“That's amazing!” He said with a laugh.

“Reinhart, do you have any idea about this mission Winston's left on?” She asked.

Reinhart paused, smile leaving his wizened face, “From what I understand, it seems that Gabriel somehow survived the collapse and Talon got ahold of him. Winston figures they did genetic alterations on him like they did with Amelie. Winston is flying off to Mumbai as we speak.”

“Why Mumbai?” Angela asked, pressing for more information.

“They found Singh. His home was attacked by Reyes. He and his sister were killed.” Reinhart told her sadly.

Angela gasped. She had worked with Singh on multiple occasions. He was always so up beat and telling people about whatever plans he had with his sister for leave. She'd been born with Down Syndrome and he doted on her.

“If Talon is setting him on former Overwatch agents, then no one is safe.” Angela said.

“I know. Torbjorn has been talking about moving his children into hiding again and Jesse has gone into hiding.” Reinhart told her.

Angela was filled with a sense of dread. Reinhart was one of the most prominent members of Overwatch. His name and family home were no secret. It may be only a matter of time before Talon came snooping around.

“Thank you for informing me, my dear friend. Please be safe.” Angela told him earnestly.

Reinhart gave a chuckle, “Don't worry about me. I just an old warrior.”

They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Angela decided to call into work in the morning. It wasn't safe to leave her son.

She set her Valkyrie suit next to the door along with her baby backpack she used to carry Bren when she went for a hike. She also packed a small bag with some basic items in case they needed to bolt.

Angela went back to the table and pulled out her pen and paper.

My dearest friends,

If you are reading this, I have left. With Talon targeting former agents I have to be prepared to protect my son. If Gabriel is behind these attacks, no one is safe. 

So I'm leaving you this letter. Please don't worry about us though I know you will. I don't know where I'm headed and I will contact you when I feel it's safe.

Know that I love you all dearly.

A.

She folded up the note and placed it on her fridge, knowing that her friends would find it should things get dicey.

She finally went to bed, feeling slightly better knowing she was prepared, just in case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week had passed since she'd talked to Reinhart. She'd quit her job at the hospital, not wanting to leave her son for a moment.

But today she couldn't stay hidden away in the cottage. She was running low on diapers and a few other items that she needed from the store. It was only about 5 miles away so she wouldn't be gone for long, but she still grabbed the bags she'd prepared before, her Caduceus already stowed in the pop up compartment in the car, compliments of Winston.

She threw the bags and her suit into the trunk, grabbing her son and strapping him into his seat with a kiss.

She pulled the car away, driving down the long driveway to the main road and off to the store. It wasn't a large store, but it was close enough to the home to be safe. 

A few minutes later she pulled into a parking spot and stepping out of the driver's seat. As she reached for the handle to the back door, an alarm on her phone went off. Angela quickly snatched her phone from her pocket. 

It was the proximity alarm for the house. Someone was closing in who wasn't invited.

Angela brought up the cameras that were stationed around the house and saw a dozen men approaching the main house, partially shrouded by a black mist.

Her heart stopped in her chest, constricting painfully. She knew that everyone had an alarm device and that those in the home would be getting into the panic room and the children who were at school knew to go to the school office and that the officers there would protect them.

Angela watched as the mist coalesced into a human form. It was Reyes. He seemed to tell his men to scour the house while he headed towards her cottage, which was the closest building.

“Schiesse.” She said under her breath, jumping back into the driver seat. He was going into her home. He was going to see the pictures of her and Bren. He would see through her disguise once he saw the rest of the home. He would know.

She pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards the 464 south, brain racing as she tried to make a quick plan. She quickly pulled into a small, mostly hidden parking lot, snatching her tools from under her seat and jumped out. She pulled a screwdriver out of the kit and set to work removing the license plate of another car and replacing her own so she would be harder to track. She worked as quickly as possible, not knowing how long it would take Gabriel to connect the dots that Bren was Jack's son.

Finishing her task, Angela stowed the tools again and took off down the road, glad she always kept the gas tank full. Bren was dozing off in his seat now, so she knew he should sleep for at least a couple of hours before she'd have to stop and get food and supplies. She pulled into a bank, pulling several thousand euros out of her account so they couldn't track her card. 

Angela jumped on the freeway and left Stuttgart behind her, praying that the family she'd come to love so dearly was safe and that Reinhart and the others would arrive to help them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the story has been jumping around a lot but I didn't want it to get too monotonous through her grief and when nothing much was happening. I hope you understand and enjoy

Angela managed to get all the way to Salzburg before Bren started crying. It was early evening now and he was hungry and tired of being strapped into his seat. Angela pulled off the freeway and pulled up a place to eat on her phone that was just off the road and had a park nearby.

She grabbed them each a beirock, settling at a picnic table in the park before placing a plate full of bite size pieces before her son in her lap. He ate ravenously and drank from his mother's water bottle before she let him loose to crawl around and get some of his energy out.

As Bren crawled around in the grass, Angela pulled out her phone, looking for any information on the home she'd left. There was a message from Torbjorn that he'd been in the area and responded to the alarm with a Bastion E-34 he'd picked up in the forest on the north coast of Germany. They'ed killed several of the attackers but Reyes had escaped. The family was unharmed and the house sustained minimal damage.

Angela breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the cameras in her cottage back up, looking around her home. Everything looked exactly as she had left it. She flipped to the camera in Bren's room. Everything was in it's place. Her room. 

The picture was gone from her dresser.

It had been her favorite. Lena had taken it the last time she had visited. She sat at the edge of the trees, Bren laughing as Lena had pulled a face at him. Angela always kept it on her dresser in a sleek black frame.

Reyes had taken it. Talon knew. 

Angela scooped up her son, tickling him so hopefully he wouldn't pick up on her fear, his laughter brightening her mood slightly. He protested when she went to strap him back into his seat, but she knew that they had to get far away from Germany.

She'd decided that she'd head to Cairo. She'd heard that Fareeha was ascending the ranks in the Egyptian military. She hadn't seen the girl in a couple of years and thought that it wasn't somewhere that people might expect she'd go, like London.

Angela stopped to recharge the car at the station, going inside to buy some snacks and drinks for the ride. It took about 10 minutes for the car to charge so she turned on Bren's favorite cartoon for him and pulled up GPS directions to a tiny inn in Budapest that she had chosen to stop at for the night. It would take hours more driving but it was far enough away that she felt safe with her decision.

Angela got out and unplugged the car, making sure her son had some toys and his sippy cup at hand before she pulled out of the station and got back on the A1 towards Budapest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six am came too early for Angela as her alarm went off. She hadn't gotten in to the inn until after midnight, practically dead on her feet.

Bren woke up, stretching in her arms, gently patting his mother's cheek as he opened his eyes. She smiled back at him and pressed a kiss to his forehead before disentangling herself from the covers, placing him on the floor to crawl around and heading into the bathroom grabbing her phone.

There was a message from Lena waiting for her.

I'm worried sick, love. I hope you're ok. Torbjorn sent me your note. Please let me know you're ok soon. 

Angela felt a wave of grief come over her, knowing she couldn't assuage the fears of her best friend, even with the shortest text.

Angela decided she would ask the inn keeper if she would mail something for her. She grabbed the note pad from the drawer, simply writing 'Safe' on it before putting her son on her hip and walking down to the front desk. The kind woman gave her an envelope and promised to drop the letter into today's post for her.

Angela thanked her profusely, feeling better at the fact that soon Lena would know she and Bren were safe, and turned to leave. She returned to her room and set to getting ready for the day, repacking all their things when she was done.

She returned her room key and strapped Bren into his seat. He was upset. He'd never been in the car for more than a few minutes at a time, and wasn't used to being confined. Angela's heart hurt for him as he wailed, but she knew she couldn't take the time to get him comfortable with their new life and keep him safe at the same time.

She took a deep breath and pulled away from the inn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It took Angela a week to drive, a few hours between breaks for Bren, from Stuttgart through the Baltic, into Turkey and finally through the Middle East to Egypt. The summer sun was pounding down on them, creating an intense heat shimmer on the pavement as she neared the Amari home. Bren had fallen asleep for his nap an hour earlier. He'd started to grow accustomed to their days spent in the car and he delighted in their stops to eat and play. She was just happy is wasn't crying all the time as she had feared he might.

Angela brought the car to a stop at the gate to the Amari family home, pressing the intercom button. 

Ana's sister, Kifa, answered. Angela used her Overwatch code name, Mercy. Kifa opened the gate, the family was always open to agents.

Angela pulled through, making her way to the main house before stepping out into the blazing heat. Angela leaned in over her son's seat, hearing Kifa and Fareeha approaching.

“Time to wake up, meine liebe.” She cooed to him, gently lifting him from his seat and turning around to see her friends.

Fareeha stopped dead in her tracks and stared, wide eyed at Bren, who was blearily peering around at their latest stop.

Kifa stepped up to her, “It's good to see you again Dr. Zeigler. I'm glad to see you well in these troubled times.” She said as she kissed each of Angela's cheeks.

Fareeha stepped forward, “It's good to see you again, but I must ask about your son. Is he..”

“Yes he is and now Talon knows.” Angela cut in, handing her son off to Kifa, who was cooing over the beautiful boy.

Fareeha led the way into the main house, Kifa taking Bren into the living room while Angela followed back to one of the smaller meeting rooms.

She closed the door behind her.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Fareeha asked curtly, military training showing.

“I had been staying with Reinhart's family in Stuttgart. Only he, Winston, Torbjorn and Lena, though I don't know if you've met her or not, knew of my wear abouts or Bren's existance.” Angela replied.

“I've heard of Oxton.” Fareeha said.

Angela nodded before continuing, “ We have been watching a new agent of Talon, known as Reaper for awhile as he has been targeting former Overwatch agents. We are reasonably certain that Reaper is Commander Reyes.” Angela explained, “Talon sent him and a team of agents to Reinhart's family's home. I happened to be out at the time of the attack but Reyes recognized me from my things and now Talon knows that Bren is Jack's son.”

Fareeha took a minute to digest the information before responding.

“You should be safe here for a time, but you stand out too much to blend in. We need to make a plan.”

Angela nodded, bringing her laptop out of her bag and sitting at the table to strategize.

Within an hour, they had a rough plan laid out. Angela would fly out of Cairo for Paris, on to New York and stopping in Seattle. Angela and her son wouldn't stand out there and it wasn't somewhere she had connections, so it wasn't a logical place for her to go. Seattle had become somewhat of a sanctuary city, accepting refugees, human and omnic alike. It was safe for the most part, save an anti omnic gang that made the news from time to time.

“I'll see about finding a place for you to live there. For now though you can stay here. You're safer inside the compound.” Fareeha said, “Now I'm sure your son misses you by now.”

“Thank you so much Fareeha. I know your mother would be proud of you.” Angela told her.

Fareeha nodded and opened the door for her.

Angela made her way back down the hall, mulling the plan over, looking for any weaknesses. Coming back into the living room she saw Kifa, Bren and a couple of the Amari children building train tracks.

Kifa looked up and saw Angela. She instructed the children to play with Bren as she stood and came over to the couch where Angela had practically collapsed.

“He's terribly smart.” Kifa said to her, “How old is he?”

Angela smiled, “He'll be 6 months old in 3 days.”

“Taba!” She exclaimed under her breath, “He's well advanced of any other children his age. What the hell did the Americans pump those soldiers up with?” (Holy crap)

“I know some of the procedures that were done but no where near everything and nothing about children like Bren. The American's keep a very tight lid on the information. I could probably get more but it would require letting them know about Bren and I just don't think it's safe to do that with Reyes and Talon after us.” Angela explained.

Kifa nodded in agreement, “ I wish Ana was still here. She'd go with you in a heartbeat. I would feel a lot better if you had someone that could watch your back.”

“I would to but we don't have a lot of options. Only Reinhart, Torbjorn and one of the later recruits, Lena knows anything about him. All of them are much too noticeable to do me any good.” Angela said sadly.

Kifa pulled her into a hug, wishing that there was more she could do for the woman who saved her sister so many times.

“Well you're safe for right now, so lets set our worries aside for a bit and play with the children.” Kefa said pulling away.

Angela nodded and they went to help with the train set, installing a bridge while Bren ran the train down the tracks.

She loved watching her son play with other children. He was always so happy and he laughed with abandon. She wished desperately that he would keep his innocence through this whole mess.

Angela's phone started to vibrate in her pocket. It was Lena.

“Hello, Lena.” She said with relief.

“Oh love, I've been worried sick! I got your note yesterday, but it's killing me to not know where you are. I wish I was there with you. You're no match for Reyes on your own. Who's going to protect you? How are you going to stay safe?” Lena babbled, anxiety clear as a bell in her voice.

“Lena, calm down. I'm safe. I can't say where I am right now or where I'm going but I'm safe for now. I know that I'm no match for Reyes if he finds me but we're going to try and disappear. I'm hoping this threat won't last for too long and I'll be able to come home but I just don't know.” Angela said, trying to calm her friend.

Lena sniffed sadly on the other end of the phone, “I'm just so scared I won't see you again.”

Angela smiled sadly, “I know. I'm hoping I'll be able to see you before too long. I'm hoping my plan works and we lose Talon.”

They talked for a bit longer before saying goodbye, Lena full on crying at that point, as Fareeha came inside from another part of the family compound.

Angela slipped her phone back into her pocket, “Lena just called, I didn't tell her anything besides that we're safe for now. She's worried sick.”

“Your safety is what's important.” Fareeha said handing her a large envelope full of papers, “We've taken care of your travel plans. You fly out tomorrow morning. We'll disguise you in a head scarf and more traditional clothing, but I don't know how we're going to disguise him.”

“I'll just have to try and keep him out of site. I'll get a stroller that covers him completely.” Angela said.

“Alright. If you have to go shopping then we should get you into something else so you blend in a bit. I've let the family know that none of them can breath a word about you or your son being here.” Fareeha reassured her, “I'm sure Kifa will watch Bren for you as well.”

“I don't know what I can do to repay your family for this, but once things are better I'll find a way.” Angela said sadly.

“You have already done our family a great service by saving my mother's life on many occasions while she was with Overwatch. We both loved you very much and I will always do whatever I can to help.”

Angela nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as Fareeha turned and led her out of the main house to her home to find a suitable disguise.

She picked out a loose pair of black and white patterned pants, a white blouse and a dove grey head scarf that Fareeha helped her put on properly when she returned from talking with Kifa. Angela looked at herself in the mirror. With her dark eyebrows and everything else covered, no one should recognize her.

Satisfied, the pair of them climbed into Fareeha's car and left for the shops. Angela knew she needed some luggage, clothes for both of them, and a stroller to hide Bren in at the airport. It took them several hours to get everything they needed but at last Angela thought that they had enough for them to get by for awhile as they got settled in Seattle.

She noticed that Fareeha watched everyone around her the entire time, her hyper vigilance learned from growing up surrounded by the highly trained agents of Overwatch. She had spent quite a bit of time with Angela when she was a child while her mother was off on missions. She had always wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps.

A pang of sadness hit Angela as she thought of how the girl must feel, her mother, her hero, missing and presumed dead.

She prayed that they same thing never happened to her son.


	7. Chapter 7

Angela popped open her umbrella, shielding herself from the driving rain as she left Harbor View Medical Center, the sun long gone from view. The fall storm battered her and her umbrella as she walked to the bus stop at the corner, watching the darkness that crept at the edges of the streetlights. 

Angela was always a bit paranoid anymore. She had no one else to rely on here. She hadn't even told Lena or any of the others where she was. Fareeha had even set up a new identity for her through her military connections. She was now Anna Stenson.

A vicious gust roared through the streets, twisting the umbrella, rendering it useless.

Angela huffed to herself as she stumbled slightly, shoving her umbrella into the trashcan next to her and pulling her coat tighter around her to keep out the driving rain. 

Angela hated being out after dark. It made her feel so much more vulnerable, knowing that at any second a black mist could sneak up on her, coalescing into Reyes. 

There had been news of more attacks, and two more agents had been found dead. Winston had been sending her regular updates to keep her up to date on everything that was happening.

Angela sighed in relief as the bus pulled up and she stepped aboard to head home.

She was very glad that she had found an apartment near the hospital so she only had to go a few stops before she climbed off and hurried to her door. The power was off here and everything was plunged into darkness.

Angela used the light of her phone to unlock her door and quickly closed it behind her.

“Hello Ms. Stenton!” Chirped her baby sitter, Amy, who lived next door, “Bren is asleep. The power only went off about 20 minutes ago so everything's been fine here.”

“Thank you Amy.” Angela said, pulling money from her wallet to pay the girl, “Please be safe. It's really howling out there.”

Amy nodded and pulled her coat tight as she zipped out the door. Angela quickly locked the door behind her before fetching her lamp and setting to check that the rest of the apartment was locked up before grabbing herself her peanut butter sandwich.

Angela went back to Bren's room with her food, making sure he was tucked in and safe. He was almost 10 months old and running riot around the apartment. He had physically surpassed any other child his age, able to overcome most barriers in his path. He was the same size as a two year old and was already beginning to use a few basic words. His progress was astonishing. She had started lying about his age when she put him into an early education program for 8 hours a week to avoid suspicion. He was so happy. He had friends now and had even been invited to a birthday party. Angela had politely declined, not wanting any pictures from the party ending up online, but it was still some semblance of a normal life for Bren.

Angela kissed his brow before grabbing her headlamp and book to relax. It had been a long day at work. With the storm, there had been several serious car accidents. She was working in the ED at Harbor View now and was kind of enjoying being on the front lines of trauma care again, falling into a grove that reminded her of the old days. 

Angela about jumped out of her skin as the wind gusted again, blowing some piece of debris into her window. She climbed out of bed, slightly panicky, and checked the window. She heard Bren start crying in the other room, scared by the storm. She rushed to his room and lifted him from his bed.

“Hush now, meine leibe, it's ok.” She shushed, bouncing him in her arms while walking back to her room. 

Angela laid him down in her bed, climbing in next to him. She turned off the light and pulled him close, holding him while the storm continued to rage. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The lights in her apartment clicked back to life at about 4am, rousing Angela from her slumber. She left Bren in the bed, going through and turning off most of the lights. She decided that she might as well stay up and set to making a pot of coffee, flipping on the news.

Apparently the winds had reached 80 miles an hour during the night, knocking out power for the whole county. Surprisingly no one had died during the storm.

The news then switched over, the reporter talking about the recent rise in attacks by the anti omnic gang, Xhuuya. The police were actively asking for the public's help in identifying the attackers.

Angela sank down into her couch with her coffee, watching the rest of the segment before pulling out her phone to check for new messages.

Preschool was closed for the day for storm clean up. Bren would be sad at that. Lena had messaged her sometime in the night, letting her know that she was on her way to see Winston in Gibraltar.

Everything seemed to be quiet for the moment. 

She padded back to her room, checking that her son was still fast asleep and grabbed her book, taking the time she had to herself to catch up. 

It was almost an hour before Bren came toddling out of her room, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Angela set down her book, opening her arms for her son to climb up and snuggle down in her arms. 

“Alright, my beautiful boy, do you want to watch something with mommy?” She said, reaching for the remote.

He gave a small nod and she turned on his favorite show and held him close, making it a point to spend as many good times with him as she could, never knowing when it all may come crashing down again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The morning light was just peaking over the crest of the mountains as a man jumped off a car of a maglev train taking grain into the shipping terminals. The city looked a bit of a mess as a storm had come through the night before, huge swaths still without power.

The man hefted a duffel bag over his shoulder and started walking towards the south side of the city where he'd been hearing reports of increased gang activity. It shouldn't take him too long to find the ones who were attacking the peaceful omnics that had come to the city for safety. He'd clear them out and be off to the next place soon enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Angela huffed in annoyance. The sign in front of her said that the bus that usually ran this route was currently out of service and it would be another hour before another bus came to pick up the route. She pulled up her phone, screen illuminating her face in the falling darkness, pulling up the bus map for the Georgetown neighborhood. She had just gotten out of an engagement the hospital had sent her out on to the South Seattle Community College. She had talked to the nursing students about what to expect if they decided to go to work in the Emergency Department. The students had seemed to react well to her speech and she hoped that she'd see a few of them working beside her in the future.

But for right now she needed to get walking, another bus line a few miles to the north was running on time and would be passing the area in about half an hour.

Angela stashed her phone in her coat pocket and started walking. Angela always kept vigilant, especially now as she passed from the store fronts into the industrial part of town. It was practically empty, most workers having gone home for the night or inside the warehouses, hard at work. Angela palmed the pistol she always kept on herself, just in case, and felt a bit more at ease, knowing that she had some way to defend herself. She pulled the phone out of her pocket again, firing off a text to Amy that she'd be late because of the buses, before stowing it again so as not to get distracted. Distracted people were an easy target.

Angela picked up her pace as she heard voices yelling down the alley to her right. Angela stopped, peeking around the corner to assess the danger.

There were 3 men, dressed in clothes with the glowing electric blue accents that identified them as members of Xhuuya. They had cornered an omnic next to some garbage cans, brandishing pipes and bats as they prepared to attack.

Angela cursed in german under her breath, knowing that she couldn't bring herself to just walk by, it wasn't in her nature to leave someone who needed help. She pulled the pistol out of her pocket and clicked the safety off, stepping into the alley.

“Back off or I'll shoot.” She commanded.

The men stopped, turning to face her, laughing when they saw her petite form. They obviously didn't think she was a threat as they started jeering and walking closer.

Angela popped off a shot into the pavement at their feet, “I said back off. Now turn around and leave the omnic be.”

They stopped again, assessing her as a real threat now. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?” One of them snarled, “You'd best be the one to run along.”

Angela stood her ground calmly, “I'm afraid I can't allow you to attack the innocent.”

They laughed again, “Innocent? Are you blind bitch? He's just a damned omnic! He'll probably turn all his buddies against up at any time. We're just taking care of things before they become a problem.”

Angela was revolted by their blatant lack of empathy, “I'll ask you one more time to leave him be and move on.”

“Or what?” One of them said menacingly, pulling his own pistol out.

As soon as she saw the gun, she fired, striking the man in the shoulder. Seeing their friend hurt, the other two charged at her.

Angela fired again at the one on the right as she backed up, but the shot went wide as she tripped on a discarded bottle, falling backwards onto the sidewalk, firing again. This time she hit her mark, her bullet pulling clean through the man's thigh, dropping him to the pavement with a yelp.

She didn't have time to take another shot, as the third man was on her, smashing his bat into her hands and sending her gun flying.

Angela cried out in pain, feeling several bones in her hand snap.

“Oh I'm gonna have fun with you.” The man said, reaching down to grab her.

But before his hand reached her coat, a bullet burst through his chest, spattering her face with droplets of warm blood, his body collapsing in front of her. Angela looked down the alleyway seeing another man standing at the end. All she could see in the near darkness was his silhouette and what looked like a red tactical visor covering his face.

Angela quickly scooted down the sidewalk, grabbing her pistol with her good hand. She put the pistol in her lap as she reached into her bag, pulling out the miniaturized Caduceus Torbjorn had made for her. It was only good for healing and only held a small charge, but it was easy to conceal. 

She quickly healed her hand, watching as this newcomer knocked the other two unconscious and restrained them, presumably leaving them for the police as the omnic fled the scene. As he finished, Angela flexed her healed hand and grabbed her pistol again, leveling it at him as she started to walk towards her.

“Don't come any closer.” She warned him, lifting herself from the concrete, never taking her gun off of him.

The man dropped his weapon, raising his hands, “I just want to make sure you're ok.” He said, mask distorting his voice.

“I'm fine.” She said sternly.

“I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Mind if I check over the body?” The man said.

Angela nodded, lowering her weapon to point at the ground as she watch him roll the dead man over and checking his pockets, taking the man's phone.

“What are you doing?” She asked, still a bit wary.

The man stood and looked at her, slipping the phone into a pocket on his jacket, “I'm searching for the rest of his gang. I came here to stop them. Now I would feel much better if you called a cab to take you the rest of the way home.”

Angela nodded, stowing her pistol and pulling out her phone to hail a cab. As she finished her call she looked back up. The man had disappeared, taking the man's body with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soldier was watching from around the corner of the building across the street as the cab dropped her off at her apartment. He knew it was Angela. She may have changed her hair but there was no doubt left in him as she had pulled the device out of her purse and healed her hand in an instant. That kind of technology just wasn't available to the public sector.

A pang of guilt had passed through him as he kept himself hidden from her. He still desperately missed her. He'd been keeping an eye out for her, always wondering why she had disappeared so completely after the fall of Overwatch. The others had either gone home or were working as vigilantes as he was. But she was just gone, not a trace of her, even online.

It had been over a year and a half since he'd seen her, and a wave of relieve had washed over him when he saw her, knowing that she was ok.

He watched her as she opened the door to her apartment and went inside. 76 went to move across the street to see if he could get a look inside her apartment but stopped when her door opened again, a teen waving goodbye before going to her own door next to Angela's.

Soldier was slightly puzzled. Why would she need someone to watch her apartment while she was out?

He sprinted across the street and quickly rounded the building, climbing the fire escape of the one behind. He could just see into a back bedroom, still dark. He hoped she would turn a light on, figuring it was her room.

It didn't take long for the light to flip on, showing him not the room of a woman, but a child's room. 

76 couldn't believe what he was seeing, jumping down from the fire escape to sneak closer to the window. The light turned off again, Angela leaving the room. He could hear the water rush through the pipes in the wall. He figured she'd gone into the bathroom to finish cleaning the blood off herself. 

He crept forward, looking into the window. The room was illuminated by a small nightlight on the table next to the bed. It was a boy's room and the tiny face that he saw bathed in a soft blue light was unmistakable.

Jack saw the face of his son.


	9. Chapter 9

Soldier was watching from around the corner of the building across the street as the cab dropped her off at her apartment. He knew it was Angela. She may have changed her hair but there was no doubt left in him as she had pulled the device out of her purse and healed her hand in an instant. That kind of technology just wasn't available to the public sector.

A pang of guilt had passed through him as he kept himself hidden from her. He still desperately missed her. He'd been keeping an eye out for her, always wondering why she had disappeared so completely after the fall of Overwatch. The others had either gone home or were working as vigilantes as he was. But she was just gone, not a trace of her, even online.

It had been over a year and a half since he'd seen her, and a wave of relieve had washed over him when he saw her, knowing that she was ok.

He watched her as she opened the door to her apartment and went inside. 76 went to move across the street to see if he could get a look inside her apartment but stopped when her door opened again, a teen waving goodbye before going to her own door next to Angela's.

Soldier was slightly puzzled. Why would she need someone to watch her apartment while she was out?

He sprinted across the street and quickly rounded the building, climbing the fire escape of the one behind. He could just see into a back bedroom, still dark. He hoped she would turn a light on, figuring it was her room.

It didn't take long for the light to flip on, showing him not the room of a woman, but a child's room. 

76 couldn't believe what he was seeing, jumping down from the fire escape to sneak closer to the window. The light turned off again, Angela leaving the room. He could hear the water rush through the pipes in the wall. He figured she'd gone into the bathroom to finish cleaning the blood off herself. 

He crept forward, looking into the window. The room was illuminated by a small nightlight on the table next to the bed. It was a boy's room and the tiny face that he saw bathed in a soft blue light was unmistakable.

Jack saw the face of his son.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Jack sat on the bedroll he'd laid out in an old office of an abandoned warehouse, where he'd been staying while in Seattle. He hadn't slept at all and his mind was still racing as he saw the first rays of light filter though the grimy windows. 

Angela had a son. He had a son. There was no question. The boy looked just like him. 

Now it all made sense. Why she had disappeared so thoroughly after he 'died'. The child of a super soldier was a very tempting target for Talon. Not to mention what would have happened if the government found out about his existence.

He had a son.

Guilt weight heavily upon him. He'd been gone for a year and a half, waging his own personal war against the criminal underbelly of the world, when Angela, his angel, had been cut off from it all, desperate to protect her child. His child.

Jack didn't know how to handle this. He couldn't just go back to the way things had been. He couldn't leave now that he knew, but how do you tell the person you love that you've been lying to the world for 19 months?

The thoughts went for circles in his head, circling around the peaceful face of his son.

Jack punched the floorboards next to him, denting the wood, trying to dispel the racing thoughts. He stood, deciding that he had to do something. He'd figure out a plan on the way. 

He threw his legs out the window of the office, sliding down the fire escape to the dimly lit alley below, thinking while he set off towards her apartment. It was only a few miles north of where he was staying so he knew it wouldn't take long.

What did he say to her? How was she going to react? 

He hoped she wasn't too angry. 

What was his son like? 

He desperately wanted to know the boy. He'd never thought he'd be a father, figuring his life would be dedicated to serving the world. But here he was, standing in front of the door, ready to give it all up for them.

Jack hesitated for a moment, face still hidden, before steeling himself for her anger and knocking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela looked at her door, puzzled. Her clock read 6:43. It was her day off and she'd been sitting at her table, coffee in hand while Bren munched on the cereal spread across his high chair tray.

Who would be at her door so early? Paranoia made her check the pistol securely in her lower back holster before walking to the door.

She cracked it open, leaving the chain bolted in place. It was the man who'd saved her last night.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, her tone harsh with suspicion.

“May I come in for a moment.” He asked quietly.

“No. I can't let you inside. Why are you here?” She told him, thinking of her son behind her and his safety.

“I need to speak with you. It's important.” He said.

“Fine but you aren't coming inside.” She said, slightly annoyed.

Angela closed the door to undo the chain, looking back to make sure Bren was alright in his seat before stepping out the door. She motioned for him to follow her around the corner of the building, away from any possible prying eyes.

She turned to face him, arms crossed, “Now what's so important?”

Jack quickly checked the area before reaching up to undo his visor, steeling himself as he heard the click, pausing before pulling the mask away from his face.

Angela's eyes got impossibly wide, body frozen in place.

Jack.

It was Jack.

He was alive.

He was here.

She wasn't dreaming.

Tears pricked at her eyes as the shock wore away. Angela launched her self at him, tackling him hard in the chest, pressing her lips to his, tears pouring down her face. 

Jack instinctivly caught her in his arms, smiling a bit as she frantically kissed him before she pulled back.

Angela didn't miss a beat as she brought her fist up, punching him square in the face, catching herself as he let her go. She cradled her now bruised hand, feeling slightly smug through her anger as she saw him wipe a drop of blood away from his nose, amusement glittering in his eyes.

“That's a hell of a hello, Angel.” 

Hearing him call her by his pet name caused her anger to boil over.

“Nein! You don't get to show up at my door after a year and a fucking half and just call me Angel again and expect everything to be ok!” She hissed, trying not to wake the neighbors, “Wo zum teufel bist du gewesen!?” (Where the fuck have you been)

Jack smiled a little at her falling back into german, not quite know what she said, but getting the gist.

“I'm sorry. I had no idea.” He started, cut off as she grabbed his hand and practically dragged him back into her apartment.

Jack saw his son as he stepped through the door, a bright smile on his face as he saw his mother. God he was so perfect. 

Angela locked the door behind them, rounding on him once again, “You had better explain yourself a quick, Jack Morrison.” She growled, walking past him to check on Bren.

He watched her for a moment, fussing over the child, “I had no idea where you were after the collapse. I figured that it would be easier for all of you if I truly was gone. It seemed like the world wanted Overwatch, wanted me gone.” He explained.

“I was still looking for you though. I knew where most of the others were, but you seemed to just vanish.”

“Yeah, I had to. I couldn't let anything happen to Bren. I couldn't let Talon find out about him.” Angela hissed, picking up her son and holding him close.

Jack paused, “His name is Bren?” He whispered.

Angela's anger abated a little, thinking about how Jack hadn't even know he had a son, much less his name. 

Bren started to kick his little legs, pulling at his mother's shirt, “Down, Down!” He squeeled.

Angela looked at the boy, a near perfect copy of the man standing in front of her, and set him down, wondering what he would do with this stranger in their home.

“Yes. His name is Brennan Jack. He's about 10 months old now.” She told him as her son toddled up the the man he'd never seen before. She couldn't help the happiness she felt, seeing her child meet his father.

“Hewwo.” He said brightly, having never met a person who didn't like him. He had no fear of strangers, never having know the paranoia that followed his mother everywhere they went.

Jack watched, in slight shock, as the boy went to play with his box of toys in the corner. Emotions tightened his chest until it was hard to breath. He had a son. He had a family of his own.

Angela saw the way he looked at their son, knowing what a shock this must be, finding her again only to realize he had a son who was already walking and talking.

“Come and sit Jack. I'll pour you a cup of coffee.” She called to him, moving to pull another mug out of the cupboard.


	10. Chapter 10

Angela sat on the edge of her bed, writing out a message to Lena. Jack, back in her life so suddenly, was playing with Bren in the living room, getting to know his son.

Angela stared at what she had typed out on her phone, not knowing what else to say.

Lena, things have happened, we're safe. 220 10th Ave, #15, Seattle, Wa, 98122

Angela sent the text before she could think in circles again, sighing, knowing her best friend would be frantically booking a flight to Seattle immediately.

She slipped the phone back into her pocket, rising and heading back out into the living room. Angela smiled, leaning against the door frame as Bren was laughing hysterically. He'd tackled his father with his favorite t-rex toy and was roaring between shrieks of laughter, Jack pretending to be dying beneath the onslaught.

Angela let out a small laugh of her own, drawing her son's attention. He leapt up off his father with his most menacing roar and charged straight at her. Angela scooped him up, spinning him through the air as her heart felt light enough to float away. She pressed a kiss to his temple before telling him to go play, moving to sit at the table.

Jack sat across from her, still hesitant, not knowing if things would be ok between them.

“I sent Lena a text. She'll be on her way here soon.” Angela said, looking at her hands folded on the table, “I haven't told anyone where I've been for the last four months.”

“Where were you before that?” He asked.

“Well let see. I guess I should start at the beginning,” She said with a sigh, “I found out that I was pregnant while working in the rubble of headquarters. That was just the news I needed on top of everything else. Lena helped me get through it all. We all went to Arlington for your funeral. Your mother is delightful by the way.” She said with a smirk.

Jack laughed at that, “I'm sorry you had to meet her that way, but I agree. I'm sure she adored you.”

“Yes it would have been nice if you had told me that they knew about us!” Angela said with annoyance, remembering how shocked she'd been to find out.

“I'm sorry, mein engel. I was waiting for the right time.”

Angela's face softened. She'd always loved it when he used German.

“Anyway, Lena made a plan with Reinhart, Winston and Torbjorn. I went to live with Reinhart's family in Stuttgart for over a year. We all figured I'd blend in better there and the others could visit from time to time without it looking suspicious.” She continued, “How much have to been keeping tabs on Talon?”

Jack sat back in his chair, “I've been trying to keep an eye on their activities. Seems like they have a new agent who's been targeting Overwatch agents specifically but I don't know much more than that. I don't have access to the intelligence I'm sure you do.”

Angela nodded, “Winston has been watching closely. He has proof that the new agent of Talon's is actually Gabriel.”

Jack gasped, “He's alive?”

“Yes it seems like a few people have been coming back from the dead lately.” She said, taking a jab at him before continuing her story, “Anyway, I happened to be out when Reyes and Talon attacked the house. I took Bren and fled. I ended up heading down to Cairo, hiding out with Fareeha for a couple of days.”

Jack let out a chuckle at that, Angela giving him a confused look, “Speaking of people coming back from the dead, I ran into Ana a couple months back.”

“Hat eigentlich niemand sterben mehr.” Angela hissed under her breath. (Does no one actually die anymore)

“I'll assume that you and her came up with the plan come here?” Jack asked, still chuckling.

Angela smiled at him, reveling in all the good news, “Yeah. We figured it was diverse enough that I wouldn't be out of place, and I had no reason to come here. Talon knows about Bren.”

Jack looked at her seriously, “How did they find out?”

“Reyes went through my cottage in Stuttgart. He took a picture of Bren and I.” She said quietly.

“Shit.” He said to himself.

Angela looked up at the clock. She had about 20 minutes until Bren needed to be at preschool.

“I need to get Bren ready for school. Do you have any idea what you're going to do?” She asked, walking towards Bren's room to grab his clothes for the day.

“I need to go and grab my gear from where I stashed it, if you don't mind me staying here.” Jack said hesitantly, fearing she'd reject him.

She stopped in the doorway, “If you think that I'm going to let you go after you've just shown back up after being dead for a year and a half, you are a stupid man, Jack Morrison.”

Jack felt the happiness wash over him again, quickly following her, grabbing her round the waist as she pulled an outfit from Bren's drawers, spinning her to face him and crashing his lips to hers. He poured all of the emotion he'd been bottling up into it, feeling her practically melt in his arm, just as she used to.

Angela wrapped her arms around his neck, relishing the near frantic way their tongues tangled with each other, but she knew she had to pull away. She pressed her forehead to his, looking into the bright blue eyes she'd missed so much.

“I love you, and I fully expect you to make this up to me in full, but right now I have to take care of Bren.” She said, slightly breathless.

Jack pressed another quick kiss to her lips, “I know.”

He enjoyed watching her catch his rascal of a son, nearly having to wrestle the boy into his clothes and quickly brush the tangles from his hair as he tried to squirm away and return to his toys. Once she finally had him ready for school, Angela turned back to Jack.

“Here.” She said, handing him the spare key to her apartment, “You'll need this if you're going to be staying here.”

Jack took the key, quickly stowing it before pulling her in for another kiss, “I've miss you Angel.”

Angela smiled lovingly at him, “I'm just glad you're alive.” She told him, “I'll see you when I get back.”

She pulled away, taking Bren's little hand and walking out the door, one last look over her shoulder as she left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The walk was a quick one, and Angela was glad to have just a couple of minutes to herself as she walked home. Her head was nearly spinning with everything that had happened. Her whole life changed in a moment.

He was back. She felt so much better knowing that he'd be there once he grabbed his stuff. It wasn't just her against Talon any more. 

She smiled, thinking about Bren playing with his father. This was exactly how things should have been all along. Angela unlocked her door, hanging up her coat and pulling her phone from the pocket.

She needed to do some work around the apartment today, dishes stacked in the sink and toys spread everywhere, but she didn't mind. She felt light as a feather, like she was finally breathing again after being on the verge of drowning without even knowing it.

She turned on her playlist and set to work, tidying up the living room and vacuuming the carpet before starting in on the dishes in the sink, singing as she worked. She pushed her sleeves up, filling the sink with suds as she grabbed the sponge, washing and rinsing rhythmically, bobbing to the beat.

Angela didn't hear her door open over the music and her own singing as Jack returned, setting his things next to the door. He watched her, elbow deep in suds singing one of his favorite songs at the top of her lungs.

“I see a little sillhouetto of a man. Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?”

He remembered the two of them, tucked into each other in his flat at headquarters, listening to music, and having to explain why Queen was one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th century.

Jack quietly walked forward, sneaking up behind her and placing his hands on her hips as she bounced to the beat, laughing when she about jumped out of her skin with a shriek.

Angela turned around, flicking the water from her hands into his face, “Still enjoy scaring the shit out of me?”

Jack let out a little growl, yanking her close to him, “Just seeing if I've still got it.”

Angela slapped his arm playfully, falling back into old habits, shrieking again as he hefted her up and over his shoulder, fist pounding ineffectively at his back as he took her to the couch. He sank down, pulling her into his lap as he did, just holding her close for a minute. Angela laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling truly safe in his arms.

Angela's phone interrupted the moment of quiet, killing the music for the phone call. 

“Hello?”

“Angela!” Lena cried at the other end, “I'll be there tomorrow! Winston just picked me up in the jet. I should be able to push it and get there by about 2am.”

“Calm down, Lena. There's no need to panic. I'm fine. Bren's fine.” Angela soothed, “I'll see you when you get here.”

“Alright, love. I'll call you when we're close.”

Angela set the phone on the arm of the couch, snuggling to back into Jack's arms.

“So how fast is she pushing that jet?” He asked with an amused tone.

“Just about to the limit of it's capabilities. She's been rather pissed that I wouldn't tell her where I was.”

Jack pressed a kiss to her head, beyond glad she hadn't pushed him away for disappearing.

“We do need to talk though.” Angela said a bit ominously, pushing herself up a bit to look at him, “There's some things you need to know about Bren.”

Jack nodded, he'd had a few questions himself about his son.

“I of course did genetic testing on him after he was born. Amazingly he's got almost 2/3 of your DNA. I don't know how it happened and may not ever be able to properly research the phenomenon without a lab under my control again. But I didn't know what to expect from that besides that he should have your strength, speed and agility.” She explained, “It became apparent when he was about three months that his development was accelerated as well, hitting his milestones at the upper end of the spectrum.”

“What does that mean for Bren?” Jack asked.

“I don't know. I don't have a fully funded lab at my disposal to test some of my theories and the American's are so tight lipped about the entirety of the Super Soldier program that I could never get my hands on any information they may have without turning Bren over.” Angela said, frustration showing as she climbed out of his lap to pace the room, “What I think may be going on is whatever they did to you is somehow passed down and that the DNA resequenced itself when he was conceived into what could be considered the perfect version. That he will always be smarter, stronger and more advanced than any other children his age. I had to lie about his age to the school so that they wouldn't ask too many questions.”

Angela stopped pacing and looked back at Jack, “If I'm right, he'll be better even than you, because he was basically built from the DNA up to be perfect.”

Jack saw the fear flash through her eyes, “If Talon ever got ahold of him...”

“That's not going to happen.” Jack growled.

Angela walked back towards him, feeling the anger poring off of him in waves, and climbed hack into his lap, stroking the side of his face, trying to calm him and herself at the same time.

“Alles wird gut. We'll keep him safe.” She soothed.

Angela's phone started to ring again.

“Hello?”

“Ah yes, Ms. Stenton, could you come down to the school? Bren took a bit of a fall on the playground and has hurt his arm. I figured since you're a doctor, I'd call you instead of an ambulance.” His teacher said, Bren crying in the background.

“I'll be there in a minute.” Angela said, slightly anxious. 

She jumped up grabbing her bag from the kitchen table, “Bren's fallen and hurt himself. I need to get there before he heals and they ask questions.” She explained.

Jack jumped up, grabbing his side arm from his pile of things, stowing it in his jacket, “I'll come with you.”

The pair dashed out of the apartment, setting into a run next to each other. Angela was glad to have someone at her side again, watching her back, and that she'd kept up with her running, wanting to be in the best shape possible in case of the worst.

Jack waited at the door while Angela ran in, quickly collecting their son and thanking the teachers for calling her. She carried Bren cradled to her chest as she rejoined Jack outside, walking out of site of the school before handing the boy over to Jack so she could inspect his arm. It was already partially healed, but it looked like he had broken his wrist in the fall.

Bren sniffed through his tears, snuggling into his father's chest as they walked back home. Angela didn't want to be outside for too long, especially now that Jack was with them. There were too many cameras on them at all times outside.

They were home in a few minutes, Jack setting his son on the edge of the counter so Angela could get a better look at him. 

“The bruising and swelling is already going down.” She said under her breath, “Looks like the break lined up well and feels firm already.”

Bren was already smiling again clamoring to get down and play. 

Angela looked at Jack, sharing a moment of shock at the speed at which the boy was healing from the break.

She set the boy down, watching him as he ran off.

“Jesus christ...” Jack said, running a hand through his slightly graying hair.

“Like I said. I don't know what to expect as he grows, especially with the nanites from my body in him as well.”

“We'll have to sit down with Winston and see if we can figure out some way of getting you a lab to find out.” He said, slightly worried.

Angela nodded, knowing that today had been a close call. If anyone found out about his abilities, the government would stick their noses in, or worse yet, Talon.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack laid out on the couch, dressed in a new pair of pajama pants and a tank top. He'd gone shopping for some things now that he'd have a place to keep them instead of living out of his duffle bag. Angela laid on his chest, legs hopelessly tangled together, softly snoring as he stroked her back with his thumb.

They had been waiting for Winston and Lena to show up, watching TV together on the couch, but Angela hadn't made it, the emotional roller coaster of a day taking it's toll on her. But he was happy to let her sleep as he waiting up for their friends to arrive.

It was nearly 1:30 in the morning and there was nothing on TV so he'd pulled up some of his favorite movies, enjoying that bit of living as part of society again instead of on the fringes as he had been. It had been a wonderful day, spending time with Angela as Bren napped and playing with his son until he was tuckered out. It was a life he never thought he'd be able to have.

He'd thought of a family with Angela before, of course, but as they were never public, it had only ever been a thought.

He had wanted to tell Petras about him and Angela, but with the tension with Reyes was taking up a lot of his time, his interest in Angela being one of the many points of contention between the two. Going public would have made things worse than they already were. 

And now Gabriel was out there, somewhere, hunting down his friends, and his son.

Jack knew that it would only be a matter of time before they found Angela and Bren here. Something bound to get out at some point, but he was going to do everything he could to protect them, to keep his son happy and smiling.

Angela's phone went off, snapping him out of his darker thoughts, gently shaking her awake so she could answer.

Angela grabbed the phone and put it up to her ear, yawning, “Hello?”

“We've landed love. We'll be there in 5.” Lena said, sounding like she was nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Alright, I'll be up and let you in.” She said sleepily, ending the call.

Angela stretched languidly, looking up at Jack with a sleepy smile, “Sorry I fell asleep on you.”

Jack shook his head, chest rumbling with a chuckle, “Well you'd better get your butt up before she gets here and beats down your door.”

Angela hummed in the back of her throat, pressing a kiss to his lips, before rolling off of him. Jack sat up, turning off the TV.

“I'm going to check on Bren.” He said, thinking it would be wise for her to great her friends before they saw him.

Jack silently closed the door behind him, and walked over to his son's bed. The boy had kicked off his covers, sprawled out across his sheets. Jack smiled at his son, pulling the sheet free of his legs, tucking him back in, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he squirmed a little at the disturbance. 

Jack heard Lena's quick knock at the door, Angela sounding like she got tackled when she opened the door. Winston followed before Jack heard the door close. He leaned against the wall, waiting for when Angela told them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela practically had to pry herself free of Lena's grip, “I've missed you too Lena. Hello Winston.”

“Hello Angela.” Winston said, looking around her apartment.

Lena looped her arm through Angela's, making for the couch to snuggle with her best friend, “Now what's this information that is so important you actually told me where you have been?”

Angela saw Winston as he spotted the duffel bag and boots next to the door, giving her a knowing look.

“Well I guess it started last night. I was walking home from a speaking engagement and ran into the local anti omnic gang. They were getting ready to attack another. I couldn't just walk by.” Angela explained, earning an exasperated sigh from Lena at her putting herself at risk, “I pulled my pistol and managed to take down two of them before the third got to me. I was in real trouble when a man wearing a tactical visor showed up and saved me.”

Angela took a deep breath, steadying herself for their inevitable reactions, “Well he showed up at my door this morning. It was Jack.”

Winston sat back a bit, brain chewing on the information while Lena gasped, immediately in Angela's face, squeezing her.

Angela heard Jack open the door, stepping out to greet his friends. Lena looked up, spotting Jack, flashing straight into his chest.

“Hello Lena. It's good to see you again.” He said, obviously fond of his former cadet.

Lena came up from the hug fuming, eyes practically glowing with anger as she took a swing at him, flashing behind him when he tried to dodge the blow. Her elbow connected square with his shoulder.

“Where the bloody fucking hell have you been!?” Lena said, trying not to wake the baby and beat his ass at the same time.

Angela grabbed Lena round that waist, giving Jack a chance to talk to her. 

“Lena you need to understand, the world wanted me dead. I thought you'd all be better off be better off if I was gone. I swear to you that if I'd had any idea of what was actually going on, I would have come back sooner.” He said, sadness filling his voice, “But I had no idea where Angela even was. I looked for her for awhile, but you hid her well.”

Lena huffed, but stopped trying to get away. Angela let her go, sinking back down on the couch.

“I been traveling the world for the last year and a half. I spent some time in Numbani and Russia. I've been fighting where ever I thought I was needed.” Jack said, relaxing slightly

“Well I may be mad at you, Jack, but I'm also happy that you're alive. That means I don't have to worry about those two as much.” Lena said, still slightly glaring at him.

Winston stood now that Lena had gotten it out of her system, “It really is good to see you alive, Commander. I've actually been keeping an eye on your vigilante activities for a bit now.”

Jack shook his hand, “Thank you guys for taking care of Angela and Bren while I wasn't around.”

They talked for a bit, catching up, before Winston and Lena left for the hotel they had booked a block away, promising to be back in the morning.

It was almost 3 in the morning by that point and Angela was dozing off on the couch again. Jack walked over too her, slipping his arms under her knees and around her shoulders, carrying her towards the bedroom, Angela snuggling down into his chest, arms around his neck. 

Jack laid her in the bed, climbing in and pulling her close, both of them tired, they drifted off together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hey, boss man, I've got something you may want to see.” Called a woman's voice from a nest of computer monitors, cables and fans, as Reaper passed by the door.

Reaper stopped with a growl, standing with arms crossed in the doorway as the woman extricated herself. 

“So you know that picture you gave me to look into?” She asked, sauntering up to the stiff man, “Well I put it into my recognition software. It's been running in the background for days now, really eats up the ram.”

“Get to the point, Sombra.” Reaper growled, hating to waste time.

The purple haired woman scowled at him, “Well I got a match.”

“Where are they?” He asked impatiently.

Sombra flicked her fingers, popping up the image from a traffic camera, zoomed in on a man and a woman, carrying a small blonde boy down the street. The man and woman's faces weren't visible at the angle but there was a clear shot of the boy.

“They're in Seattle. I can give you the location of the camera, but that's as close as I can get you.” She told him.

“I'm headed out on another mission. If you get anything else send it to me immediately. Once I'm finished with this, I'm flying to America.” He said, stalking off.

“Sure thing boss.” Sombra huffed. 

She never got any gratitude around here, but she had access to the best tech so that made up for it. She climbed back into her computer, getting lost in the data again.


	12. Chapter 12

Angela was furiously working in the kitchen, griddle on the counter covered in slices of bread drenched in egg and vanilla while bacon sizzled away on the stove. Winston and Jack were in the living room discussing plans of action, while Lena mixed up some orange juice behind her. Bren kept bringing toys over, placing them around Winston.

“Do you have any more information on what Reyes has been up to? I think he's our biggest threat right now.” Jack asked, trying to come up with a plan to protect his family.

“There was a report that he was in Panama on a Talon mission, but I haven't been able to confirm the information. There's also report that the hacker known only as Sombra has started working with Talon. This Sombra person is a ghost. There's talk that they've got their fingers in just about every major cyber crime in the last 5 years, but no one seem to know anything concrete. If this Sombra person even exists, and they've joined Talon, that's another major problem.” Winston said seriously, “Nothing is safe from a hacker of this skill. Messages, electronic information even cameras are all fair game.”

“If that's true, then no where is safe.” Jack said.

“Well we can't just give up, now can we?” Angela said, handing each of them a plate of food.

She and Lena joined them.

“I don't want to move unless we have to.” Angela admitted, “Bren is happy here. He has friends, some semblance of a normal life.”

“I know, Angela, but we do need to have a plan for an attack. Somewhere safe for you to hide.” Winston said, Bren placing his toy car at his feet.

Angela watched her son sadly, knowing that all of this could come crashing down, “I know. Perhaps we could plan on somewhere smaller next time. Maybe the Canarys or Malta. That way we'd be closer to you if we need help?”

Angela had thought more than once on what she'd do if she had to flee again. As much as she loved the people and the culture of acceptance here in the Pacific Northwest, she missed the sun and the heat she'd learned to love while working in Overwatch.

“That may work. I'll have to look into safe options.” Winston mused, “But in the mean time, we'll be leaving the jet here. Lena talked to the guys down at Boeing Field and it's going to sit in a hangar there. It's only about 10 minutes away so you should be able to get to it in an emergency. You can still fly, can't you?”

“I may be a bit rusty but I'll manage.” Jack said, “Do you have a car, Angela? We'd need one to get there in case of an attack.”

“No. I've never had the need for one here. I always take the bus.” She told them.

Bren went to his father, t-rex in hand, “Pay?”

Jack smiled at his son, “I'll be there in a minute buddy.” He told the boy, “We'll need to get a car, preferably one with a bit of power.”

Lena nodded, “Angela and I can take care of that.”

Jack turned back to his son, scooting off the couch to join him on the floor in an epic battle of dinosaurs, Winston grabbing one of the toys Bren had put around him, joining in the fray.

Angela went to grab her bag, slipping on her back holster for her pistol, stowing it in the curve of her back, just in case. 

Lena had her own pulse pistols in her chest holster, covered by her leather flight jacket, “Alright. We'll be back soon.”

Angela pressed a quick kiss to Jack's lips, Lena gushing over how cute they were. They'd never been able to be open about their relationship in Overwatch, so this was the first time their friends were seeing them acting like a couple. She had to admit that it felt good, not having to hide anymore, just having him there at all was some sort of miracle.

She leaned down, kissing Bren while he roared ferociously, before walking out the door with Lena.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lena and Angela stood at the car lot, arm in arm, looking over the two cars in front of them as the sales man told them about all the perks each car came with.

The dark blue car was nice. It was fast and small enough to weave in and out of traffic if need be, but the back seat was cramped and it would be difficult with the bulky carseat.

The white car had a lot more room in the back, made to be more of a family car than the blue one, but it sacrificed speed for comfort. And Angela knew how much difference 30 seconds could make in a dangerous situation.

“I think maybe the blue one.” She said to Lena, wondering what her friend thought.

“It might be difficult with the baby, but you can't argue with that speed. I think I agree. The blue one is the best choice.” Lena nodded.

Angela and the sales man went into the office to do up the paper work, while Lena climbed back into the car, inspecting the inside of the car, noting where firearms could be stowed and modifications could be made to accommodate Angela's gear. Lena figured if she knocked out half of the backseat it would make it easier to just throw their bags in and go. Under the dash she could attach holsters for her pistol and his side arm. Lena slid further under the dash, hooking her feet around the headrest of the passenger seat to hole herself up as she inspected the plastic for the strongest points to attach holsters to.

“What in the world are you doing, Lena?” Angela said, looking into the passenger window at her ridiculous friend.

“Well I have to inspect it. It need to hold a lot of fire power.” She explained, using her feet to pull her upper body out of the hole, “You got the keys then, love?”

Angela jingled the keys, walking around to climb in the drivers seat.

“Now I think I can make a few modifications to make it better.” Lena said enthusiastically, “If I take out one side of the back seat, it will be easier to just throw your things in and get out, and I can put holsters for your weapons in the door panels and under the dashboard. I'm thinking of installing a munitions case where the seat and floor are in the back now, but I'll have to see what I can get my hands on around here.”

Angela listened to her friend, testing the car's acceleration as she jumped onto the freeway towards home, “Well it does seem to accelerate and handle quite well.” She noted.

“It should, it really is a great car with a get away in mind.” Lena said, a somber note in her voice, “I hope you never need it though.”

“I know.” Angela said sadly, “I hope so too.”

Lena was quiet, grabbing Angela's hand, offering whatever comfort she could to her friend. Lena couldn't imagine how hard all of this must be, having to sacrifice everything to try to keep her son safe, to keep him happy.

But Lena was relieved that now she at least had someone to keep her safe. She knew that Jack wouldn't leave her now that he knew. He was a formidable man, able to take a bullet and keep fighting. Angela would be much safer now.

Angela pulled the car into the space in front of her flat, climbing out, Lena following her into the apartment. 

Only Jack was there, sitting at the table with her laptop. He stood when he saw Angela and automatically went to her.

“I just got Bren down for a nap.” He told her with a pick on the lips, “Winston went back to the jet. Apparently he brought you your Valkyrie suit and a new Caduceus.”

Angela nearly moaned, “You have no idea how much I've missed my gear!”

“Come check out the car! You're going to love it.” Lena chirped, grabbing Jack's arm, dragging him out the door.

Jack looked over the car, listening to Lena's ideas for modifications and offering a few of his own.

Lena ended up calling Winston, telling him to grab the tool box and one of his personal shields as well, before calling up the local gun shops to see what they had for munitions cases.

Angela stayed inside, retreating to her bedroom while the two of them were hard at work. All of this just to be ready in case something happened. Something she wished would never happen. She could be happy here, with Bren and Jack, living like normal people. 

She collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Angela knew it was an unrealistic dream. She was never one to sit idle when people needed her, and Jack was a hero. Even if he tried to hide behind his mask and live on the edges, he was still a hero and would always throw himself into harms way to protect others. They would never have a normal life. That's just who they were and she just hoped that it wouldn't destroy her son's innocence in the process. 

Her bedroom door opened, Jack walking in, “Hiding out in your room, huh?”

“Just a bit overwhelmed at the moment.” She said.

Jack could hear the anxiety creeping into her voice. He didn't want her to worry. Jack climbed onto the bed, looming over top of her.

“Don't let yourself get caught up in the worries and the what ifs. All you can do is be prepared so that you aren't taken by surprise.” He told her before lowering himself for a kiss.

Angela wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down on her. All she wanted was for her mind to stop racing, stop worrying for a bit, and Jack always managed to make her mind go blank. She flicked out her tongue, wanting to deepen the kiss.

Jack growled softly in the back of his throat, deepening the kiss and bringing one of his hands to her waist, thumb rubbing across her ribs. She moaned her approval into the kiss, her hands loosing themselves in his hair.

Angela pulled back from the kiss, looking into his eyes, “Help me forget, Jack. I don't want to think right now.”

Jack gave her a slightly smug smile, “As you wish, meine geliebte.” He said, knowing how much she loved it when he spoke German.

He slid his hand up her ribs, kissing her again, as he stroked the underside of her breast with his thumb, swallowing her breathy moan. Teasingly he danced his fingers over her nipple, straining against the thin fabric of her bra and shirt, barely brushing them. He started to kiss his way down her jaw, pausing when he captured her earlobe gently between his teeth, causing a shiver of pleasure to pass over her body with a gasp. He pulled back, teeth scraping her ear as it pulled free, moving to her throat, exposed to him as her head was thrown back into the pillows, hand moving down to slip under the hem of her shirt, palm caressing her stomach as he made his way back to her breasts that were begging for his attention at this point. 

Jack rolled her nipple between his fingers, looking up at her face as it contorted in ecstasy while he kissed the hollow of her collarbone. It had been far too long since he'd seen that look on her face.

Angela reveled in the sensations Jack was giving her, feeling the heat pooling in her stomach and little jolts of pleasure race along her nerves. She grabbed the collar of his jacket, yanking him back up to her lips, gasping when she felt his hips settle between her thighs, teasing her with the delicious friction that her body was beginning to crave desperately.

Jack kissed her, tongue tangling with hers. He had missed this so much. He ground his hips down, relishing the moans that poured forth.

“Momma!”

The pair froze.

“Momma!” The little voice called again, just on the other side of the door.

Jack pressed his forehead to hers, smiling at her as they tried to calm their racing hearts and cool their ardor so they could be parents again.

“I'll be there in a moment, meine leibe.” Angela called, Jack rolling off of her so she could get up.

Angela adjusted her shirt, making sure she didn't look like she'd been about to have sex with the man she'd been missing for so long, before walking over to the door, leaving Jack trying to will down his erection on the bed.

Angela stepped out, picking up her son, “What's wrong, meine leibe?”


	13. Chapter 13

Angela sat on the couch, Bren in her lap watching cartoons on her tablet, her legs across Jack's lap. Winston just came in, finishing up work on the car.

“Lena just took off to grab the munitions case, said she'll be back in about an hour.” He told the couple, taking a seat in the oversized armchair.

“Well that's good then.” Jack said, “There's something else you should know as well. She didn't want me to tell anyone but I figure you should know since you're keeping an eye on everyone from Gibraltar. Ana is still alive.”

Winston looked shocked for a moment, “Do you know where she is?”

“She's been hiding out at the Necropolis. She's still trying to keep Anubis secure. I ran into her when they had a bit of a scare.”

“I saw that.” Winston told him, “Anubis nearly escaped, Reyes was there.”

Jack sat back, “I knew that it was Talons new agent. He nearly killed me. Would have if Ana hadn't been there. But I didn't know it was Gabriel at the time.”

“Well that's good to know. Has she told Fareeha?” Winston asked.

“No. She doesn't want to be a part of anything other than keeping watch on Anubis.” Jack said, “I tried to get her to come with me to Paris but she refused.”

“What were you doing in Paris?” Angela asked curiously, stroking her son's head.

“I was headed after L'insurrection after the time. They were becoming bothersome. I caught up to them mid bank robbery.” Jack chuckled, “That was quite a bit of fun I have to admit.”

“That's when the first actual pictures of you surfaced.” Winston commented, “Didn't know it was you at the time, but I knew there was someone fighting for what was right at least.”

“There's something I need to ask you as well, Winston.” Angela said softly, looking at her boy, “I need to know what's going on with Bren. I don't have a lab to test some of my theories and I can't find any information on other children like him.”

Winston sighed, “I know. I can take some samples for Athena to run tests on, but until Overwatch is recalled, if Overwatch is recalled, I don't know how to get you full access to a lab to run whatever tests you need to. There would be too many questions.”

Angela looked down, knowing that it was a long shot, but it was hard, knowing that she'd have answers if only she had the equipment she needed to find them. Jack ran a comforting hand over her leg.

“Well do what you can.” Jack said, “And hopefully one day, Overwatch will return.”

“I hope so too.” Winston said sadly, “Now Angela, do you have the things you need to do a blood sample?”

“Of course.” She said, handing Bren to his father and walking to her room to retrieve what she needed.

Jack shifted his son on his lap, making it easier for Angela to get at his arm when she returned.

She walked through the door, a white case in her hands, “How many vials do you need?” She asked Winston.

Winston scratched his chin for a moment, “I think three should be plenty.”

“Alright.” Angela said, kneeling in front of her son, “Alright, baby, this is only going to poke a little bit.”

Bren barely glanced at his mother, more interested in his cartoons, until his mother deftly slipped the needle into his vein. The boy let out a small wail, trying to wiggle away as his father held him still.

Bren cried as his mother filled 3 vials, placing them in a clear plastic container and handing them to Winston before gently pulling the needle out.

“Watch Winston.” She told him, holding up Bren's arm so he could see.

Winston gasped as the hole knit itself together in a few seconds, “That speed of healing in unprecedented.”

“I know.” Angela said gravely.

Bren snuggled into his father's chest, still sniffing. Jack held him close, running a soothing hand over the boy's hair.

“I'll be sure to analyze these right away. Lena and I will be leaving in the morning. We draw too much attention staying here.” Winston said, pocketing the samples.

Angela nodded, knowing that her friends had to leave to keep them safe. It still broke her heart that she'd have to say goodbye to them though. She stood, disposing of the needle, and left to put the case away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, after Winston and Lena had said their goodbyes, car modifications finished, Angela sat at the table, looking over information on her laptop. More news from Russia. The Omnium had sent troops out again. National Hero, Aleksandra Zaryanova was featured in most of the stories, the Russians tightly controlling the flow of information. 

There was another, smaller story that piqued Angela's interest. An unknown assailant had attacked the Helix Security R&D building, leaving a path of dead and using a device to hack their systems, stealing tech blueprints. 

“Hey Jack.” Angela called, “You need to come and look at this.”

Jack softly closed Bren's door behind him, “What's up?”

“There's a story out of Cairo. Someone broke into Helix Security and stole a bunch of tech information.” She told him as he came over, scanning through the article.

“That sounds like Reyes.” Jack concluded.

“I thought so to.” She agreed, “I'm forwarding it to Winston.”

Jack pulled out his phone, “I'll ask Ana if she has any information.”

Angela nodded, closing out the news window, Bren's happy face her background.

“Have you told your parents?” She asked quietly, having printed out a picture to send them.

Jack stopped, turning to look at her, “The only person who knew before you was Ana. Why?”

“I've been sending them a picture every three months or so with a small note. I figured they deserved to know they had a grandson.” Angela said sadly, “I just wanted to give them some hope after you were gone.”

Jack sighed, running his hand through hair. He didn't know what to do. He hated that his parents, especially his mother, who was practically a saint for putting up with him as a child, thought that he was dead. But at the same time he didn't want them to be in any danger from Talon. He had enough he was trying to protect.

“I just know that if it were my child, I'd at least want to know they were alive.” Angela said, looking at Bren's door.

“I know. I just don't want anything to happen to them because I'm not dead. It's just too risky.” He said with a sigh.

Angela, understanding the dangers all too well, tried to think of a solution, Jack sitting at the table with her.

“I have an idea.” She said suddenly, looking up at him, “What if we send the picture of Bren as I was already planning to, but we also send the picture Lena took of all of us with instructions to burn it when they get it. They should listen since they at least somewhat know what's at stake.”

Jack thought about it for a moment, “That should work.” He said gratefully.

Angela nodded and set to writing her note to them, printing out the other picture as well, handing it to Jack with a pen so he could write on the back.

They sat together in silence, pens scratching. Angela always kept her notes short and lacking any sort of details. She stood, grabbing an envelope out of the cupboard and slid the picture of her boy and her note in, laying it next to Jack so he could do the same when he was finished. Angela pressed a kiss to his hair, closing her laptop and heading to the bedroom.

Angela slipped off her blouse and jeans, heading towards her bathroom. She flipped on the light and looked in the mirror. Her roots were starting to show. She'd need to touch the color up soon she thought with a sigh, reaching down to turn on the water.

Angela reached behind her back, quickly unhooking her bra, laying it on the counter before slipping off her underwear, tossing them into the laundry bin in the corner. She tested the now steaming water, adjusting it slightly before stepping into the bath and pulling the curtain closed and flipping the shower on.

Angela moaned as the hot water cascaded over her tired body. It felt heavenly. Angela grabbed her favorite lavender scented shampoo and began lathering her hair. She thought about Jack's parents as she massaged her scalp. They were going to be so happy when the letter arrived. Mrs. Morrison had been so devastated at the 'death' of her son. She wished that the three of them could just jump on a plane to Indiana and show up at their door. She wanted her son to know his grandparents, to know where he came from. 

But that's wasn't possible with the lives they'd chosen.

Angela rinsed her hair under the pounding water, applying her conditioner and turning her attention to her body, loofah in hand.

The bathroom door clicked open and shut again. Angela knew it was Jack, hearing the rustling of his clothes as he undressed. 

She peeked out from the curtain, seeing him toss his pants into the laundry and pulling off his boxers, “You going to join me in here?” She asked coyly.

Jack smiled at her, almost predatory, “I'm going to pick up where we left off earlier.” 

Angela ducked back into the shower with a squeak of fake fright, quickly rinsing the conditioner out of her hair so it wouldn't run into her eyes.

Jack stepped into the shower, eyes roving over Angela's naked body. She gave him a sly smile, tilting her head back into the spray, teasing him. He let out a growl, moving forward and grabbing her round the waist, mouth attacking one of the breasts she'd jutted out for him.

Angela let out a gasp, grabbing his shoulders to stabilize herself as he took her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, before releasing it to attack the other.

His hand slid down her lower back over the swell of her ass, grabbing it possessively as he moved his lips up to her collar bone, giving her a love bite to wear. Angela moaned under his attention, desperately wanting him after so long without him.

She pushed him back slightly, smiling when his eyes met hers, “You don't get to have all the fun, soldier.” she told him in a sultry voice before sliding down to her knees, dragging a hand down his chest and abs finally grabbing his length.

She gave his shaft a slow, teasing stroke, never breaking eye contact before swirling her tongue around the tip. She eased her mouth around him with agonizing slowness, pulling a groan from him as his head fell back, leaning against the shower wall.

Angela loved the way he looked when she teased him, dragging another groan from his lips as she started to move, tongue flicking and swirling every time she came up, until he was begging her to stop.

“Angela... ngh... Stop.” He gasped out, not wanting to come.

Angela released him with a pop, standing back up, “What do you want me to do then?” She moaned, as he slid his fingers between her legs, teasing and rubbing her clit.

Jack grabbed the back of her thigh with his free hand, lifting her up and pressing her back against the wall of the shower, “I want you to see stars.” He hissed into her ear as he slipped his fingers inside of her.

“I want you to think of nothing but me.” He said, adding another finger and stroking the spot he knew drover her wild.

Angela could do nothing against him, lost in the ecstasy of his expert fingers, reduced to a cacophony of moans.

Jack reached between them, grasping his length and rubbing it between her folds until he was pressing into her.

“I want you to scream my name.” He said, slamming into her.

Angela cried out, sparks of pleasure racing through her body, thinking of nothing but the way it felt as he filled her, over and over again.

Jack watched the way her lips contorted with each moan and gasp as he thrust into her. He loved the way she looked, lost in the sensations, all composure gone, her nails digging into his shoulders as she clung to him.

Jack kissed her again, swallowing her moans, his entire body focused on the way her walls clenched around him.

Angela pulled her lips away for a moment, “Jack... Jack I'm...” She moaned, unable to finish the thought.

Jack picked up his pace, pounding into her, wanting to drive her over the edge, rubbing a thumb over her clit again.

Angela was so close, moans pouring from her lips, blending together until she finally fell off the edge into oblivion, waves of pleasure washing over her.

Jack felt her clench down almost painfully around him, drawing his own orgasm out, pumping his seed deep inside her.

Angela came down from her high, laying her head onto his shoulder as they both tried to catch their breath. 

“Ich liebe dich.” She said, unable to find the words in english.

Jack smiled, pressing a kiss to her hair as he slowly let her down, “I love you too. I've missed this so much.”

She looked up at him, eyes wanting to slide closed with exhaustion, “I know.”

Jack kissed her softly, both of them just wanting to finish the shower and climb into bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Angela sat at her table with her laptop, foot tapping impatiently. The sun was going down and Jack had left. He needed to finish what he came here to do. She'd desperately wanted to go with him, to be the healer at his back but her Valkyrie suit was far to recognizable for sneaking around back alleys at night. So here she was, anxiety getting the better of her, staring at her laptop, waiting for an email from Winston.

He'd messaged her earlier that he'd started Athena working on the analysis of Bren's blood and would email her the results in a few hours.

Bren came walking up to her, placing his tiny hand on her leg, “Momma?”j

Angela looked down at her son, seeing the worry on his face, “Oh, momma's ok baby. I'm just waiting for daddy to come home darling.” She told him, pulling him up into her lap.

He laid his head on her breast. He always felt better when he was close to his mother.

She pressed a kiss to his head and started singing to him in german to sooth him.

“Weißt du, wieviel Sternlein stehen  
an dem blauen Himmelszelt?  
Weißt du, wieviel Wolken ziehen  
weithin über alle Welt?  
Gott der Herr hat sie gezählet,  
daß ihm auch nicht eines fehlet  
an der ganzen großen Zahl,  
an der ganzen großen Zahl.

Weißt du, wieviel Mücklein spielen  
in der heißen Sonnenglut,  
wieviel Fischlein auch sich kühlen  
in der hellen Wasserflut?  
Gott der Herr rief sie mit Namen,  
daß sie all ins Leben kamen,  
daß sie nun so fröhlich sind,  
daß sie nun so fröhlich sind.”

She kissed the boy again as she finished. Feeling better, he hopped down, going back to his toys. Angela smiled. She loved it when he just wanted to snuggle with her for a bit. He was such a busy body she enjoyed every quiet moment the two of them had together.

She turned back to her laptop. Still no email. Angela decided she couldn't just sit there and wait so she pulled up the journal she'd been keeping on Bren's development, typing up medical notes about his fall and ability to heal broken bones with ease and about the testing that Athena was working on at the moment. 

She tried to keep the most detailed notes possible so that when she had access to a full lab again, she could look back and know everything that had happened in great detail. The journal was over 200 pages at this point and would only grow exponentially larger as he grew.

It felt good to slide into her role as a doctor when she was stressed. Being collected and professional was part of being a doctor who worked on the front lines of trauma. It made things easier to handle.

Angela finished typing and sat back, watching the medical mystery that was her son. He was only 10 months old but there he was pulling the cushions off the couch so he could jump off chair into them. These were more complex reasoning skills that children didn't usually gain until they were a year and a half old. 

Angela sighed, once again wishing she could get her hands on the American's documentation of the Super Soldier project.

The laptop dinged, letting her know that she had a message.

She opened it up, reading the report from Athena.

He had a high red blood cell count, equivalent to someone who was blood doping in sports. He also had higher than normal growth hormone and testosterone in his system, causing his unusual grown rate and larger than average muscle mass. High levels of C and T lymphocytes explained why he'd never been sick in his life. His immune system was ridiculously powerful, destroying invaders before they had a chance to take hold. There were high amounts of clotting proteins to deal with cuts and injuries. High levels of Vitamin C leading to strong collagen production as well as a huge amount of Fibroblasts all kicked into overdrive by the Nanites.

It was truly amazing. Angela copied the report, pasting it into her medical journal. This was the first time she'd been able to actually see why Bren was the way that he was.

She quickly typed up a thank you to Winston and sent it before looking at the clock. It was almost 8. 

“Time for bed, meine leibe.” She said.

“No!” He said, giggling and sprinting to hide behind the arm chair.

“Oh no. Where could my Bren possibly be?” Angela said, fake worry in her voice.

“I here!” He squealed, jumping out and running at his mother.

Angela scooped him up, “Oh I'm so glad I didn't loose meine Bren!”

Angela carried him to his room, sitting in the rocking chair to sing to him again, watching as his eyes slid closed, snuggled close to her. He really was perfect. 

She wished she could test the most pressing of her theories, how Bren had almost two thirds of Jack's DNA. It should be impossible. Her theory was that once fertilized, some process in Jack's DNA had resequenced other parts into the changes that Jack had from the Super Soldier process.

But in order to test that theory she's not only have to harvest several of her eggs, she'd have to fertilize them under lab conditions, sampling for changes in the DNA as the cell divided.

But that was a pipe dream, she thought as she placed her son in his bed and went back to the living room to wait for Jack to come back.

Angela decided to curl up in her throw and watch some old movies. Browsing through the lists she came across Breakfast at Tiffany's. It had been ages since she'd seen it so she turned it on to while away time. She curled up on the couch and tried to stay awake for Jack, but she eventually succumbed and drifted off into oblivion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Jack came through the door, practically dragging his rifle, so tired he just wanted to fall into bed. He'd tracked down the abandoned warehouse Xhuuya was using as a base. They had put up quite the fight, pulling their own guns on him. There had been over 20 of them inside and Jack was glad he'd only had to kill a couple of them, able to beat down the rest, restraining them, but not before catching a couple bullets himself. He'd put in a call to the police to come and clean up the mess, and hobbled his way home, a bullet still lodged in his shoulder blade and another in his hip.

He saw Angela, asleep on the couch and decided not to bother her yet, opting instead for a shower to clean away all the blood. Then he'd wake her to take a look at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Angela awoke to the sound of the bathroom door closing and the shower turning on. Knowing Jack must be home she got up and padded to the bedroom.

She spotted his jacket laying next to the bathroom door looking a little worse for wear. She picked it up to see the extent of the damage and gasped. There was a bullet hole in the left shoulder.

Angela dropped the jacket and ran over to the closet, grabbing her Caduceus and running into the bathroom. His clothes were in the laundry bin, covered in blood.

“Jack Morrison, how dare you not wake me up to look at your wounds! You got shot du dummer bastard!” She said.

He opened the shower curtain, “I didn't want to wake you, I figured I'd wash up then have you look at it babe.” He said tiredly.

Her anger ebbed, walking up to the shower to inspect his shoulder, “You should know by now that if there's no exit wound it can't wait, mein schatz. I need to get the bullet out.” She chastised.

“There's another in my hip.” He said, turning to show her.

“Schmerzen in meinem arsch!” She muttered, crouching down to inspect that wound, “What happened?”

Jack turned off the water, stepping out gingerly, “I found Xhuuya's hide out. They're not a threat anymore.”

“And that required you to take 2 bullets?” Angela asked with a glare, motioning him to the bed.

“There were a few more of them than I expected.” Jack grumbled, laying down.

Angela retrieved her medical kit from the closet, pulling on her gloves and opening up a sterile mat and laying it on her nightstand to place her tools on. She pulled out sealed tools, laying them out on the paper.

“Alright, I'm sure you remember the drill. This is going to hurt.” She told him, rubbing his hip with sterilization liquid.

Angela grabbed her tweezers with one hand and pressing the area with the other.

“I'm going to have to feel for the bullet. I can't feel it from the surface. It's too deep.” She scowled.

Angela slowly pressed her finger into the hole, feeling around his flesh, finding a piece of metal.

“I've found a piece, but the bullet is in several pieces.” She said, eyes zoned out as she ran purely on touch.

She used the tweezers, grasping the shard and pulling it out, Jack's entire body tensed through the pain.

“Alright, I've got the first piece.” She said, trying to talk him through the procedure.

She pushed her finger back in, deeper this time, “I feel two more pieces. I think it's most of the bullet.”

Jack bit down on his knuckles as the tweezers fished out the rest of the bullet, teeth cutting into his hand.

“Alright, I'm done with that one, meine geliebte.” She soothed, wishing she had some sort of anesthetic on hand.

Angela climbed onto the bed to his shoulder, pressing on the area after sterilizing it, feeling for the bullet. This one she could feel, smaller caliber, sitting between his collar bone and shoulder blade.

“This one should be easier. It's in one piece.” She told him, gently inserting the tweezers and quickly removing the bullet, “All done. Let me grab my staff.” 

She climbed off of him, grabbing her Caduceus that was laying on the floor next to the bed, training the healing beam on him and watching the flesh knit itself together.

“Thank you.” He said, visibly relaxing as the pain eased and vanished.

Angela nodded, moving to clean up her tools and put everything away.

Jack stood, grabbing boxers and pajama pants from the drawers she'd given him for his things, climbing back into bed as Angela finished up, climbing into bed next to him.

“Next time tell me immediately, love.” She said through a yawn.

“I'll be sure to do that, doctor.” He joked.

Angela slapped his arm before cuddling into him and falling asleep, safe and warm.


	15. Chapter 15

A shrieking alarm pierced the silence of the apartment, jolting the pair out of bed. Angela grabbed her phone. 

“Detecting Talon craft in your area.” Came Athena's smooth voice, “Proximity about 1 mile.”

Angela looked at Jack, fear clear in her eyes.

“You get Bren. I'll grab the gear!” He commanded, running to the closet.

“Alright!” Angela said, sprinting to her son's room. 

“Alright, meine leibe, it's time to wake up. Quietly now.” She cooed as she scooped him out from his blankets running out of the room.

Jack came out as she did. She set Bren down on the table, catching her Valkyrie suit as Jack tossed it to her and slipping it over her shoulders. She grabbed her Caduceus in one hand and Bren in the other arm.

“Grab the laptop! It's got all his information on it!” She said as Jack clicked his visor into place, rifle slung over his shoulder.

Jack slipped her pistol into her holster and grabbed the laptop, stuffing it into the bag they'd had ready with clothes, “Move! Get to the car.”

Angela ran for the door right behind Jack. As the door opened, they heard the sound of the Talon jet's repulsors coming down the street in front of them. 

Angela dove into the car's passenger seat, throwing Bren into his seat and leaning into the back to buckle him in as he cried in fear. She sat up as she heard a shot ring out, followed by Jack's helix rockets flying towards the jet, exploding on impact. Jack opened the door, throwing the bags in as he peppered the jet with pulse rounds before jumping into the car, another bullet striking the pavement where he'd been standing.

The car roared to life, Jack immediately throwing it into gear and flying towards the exit to the lot backwards. Angela saw a black mist leave the jet, coalescing into a man on the sidewalk.

“It's Reyes!” Angela yelled as he pulled out his dual shotguns and unloaded into the side panels of the car.

Jack whipped the car around the corner, slamming the gearshift into the proper gear, the car leaping forward as he gunned the engine. 

Reaper kept shooting, a spray finally catching the back window of the car.

Angela cried out, feeling a piece of buck shot enter her upper arm, Bren screaming in the back seat, terrified. 

“Are you hit?” Jack asked, not taking his eyes off the road as he weaved through the streets as fast as he could.

“Just in the arm. Nothing serious.” She said, moving to push the bags into the trunk and look out the back window. 

“Here they come again.” She yelled, seeing the jet following them a ways back.

“I'm almost to the freeway.” Jack said, whipping the car around another corner.

“I'll try to keep them at bay.” Angela said, pulling out her pulse pistol and bracing herself on the munitions case to shoot.

She saw the jet round the corner and started shooting them. A figure swung up onto the top of the jet, laying down and positioning a large rifle.

“SNIPER!” Angela yelled.

“Hold on!” He told her as he drifted onto the freeway on ramp, stomping on the gas and flying onto the freeway. 

There wasn't a lot of traffic at this time of night and the jet was having trouble keeping pace with them with the overpasses that were everywhere in downtown. Jack pushed the car as fast as it would go, trying to cover the 6 miles to the hangar as fast as possible.

“Call the hangar, tell them to have the doors open for us immediately!” Jack barked.

Angela pulled out her phone, pulling up the number as Bren wailed. The night guard answered and told her it would be open when they got there.

She turned her attention to Bren, pulling his blanket up, “Shh shh shh, meine leibe. Everything's going to be ok my love. Daddy and Mommy will keep you safe.”

Bren continued to cry, terrified by everything that was happening and still being tired.

Angela looked back out the window, “They've fallen behind but once we're out of downtown, they'll have a clearer path.”

“I'm working on it. We should be to the hangar in two minutes. We're almost to the exit.”

Angela watched as the overpasses fell away and the jet, now pretty far behind their souped up car, had clear skies to fly.

Suddenly there was the sound of an impact and twisting metal from the trunk.

“Sniper fire!” Angela yelled.

Jack started weaving the car in between the lanes, making them harder to hit, especially from that distance.

“Hold on.” He said, swerving to the right to get onto the off ramp. 

The only thing standing between them and safety was a long strait stretch of road.

“This is going to be sketchy with the sniper. Get Bren onto the floor.” Jack said.

Angela unhooked her son, cuddling him close for a moment before pushing him to the floor, “Hush my darling, you'll be safe down there.”

Another bullet hit the car, striking the munitions case directly to her left. Angela pulled up her pistol again, taking aim at the sniper and firing, knowing her shots wouldn't be accurate at this distance. The jet itself seemed to not be able to go much faster than their car, keeping them at a distance.

“Turn coming up. Brace yourself.” Jack called over his son's screams.

Suddenly, burning pain ripped through Angela's side. She looked down and saw the bullet hole in her side.

“I'm hit! Non critical.” She hissed through the pain.

“Hold on baby!” Jack yelled as he swung the car around the corner and onto the tarmac, flying towards the open hangar doors.

Angela reloaded her pistol and kept firing at the jet until she was hit again, searing pain tearing though her shoulder as she screamed.

Jack saw that the jet's doors were open, their small car would be able to fit inside, just.

“Just hold on. I'm going to drive this thing strait into the jet!”

Angela scooted, pain flaring every time she move, until she was leaning on Bren's carseat, covering him on the floor with her body. 

Jack hit the brakes as the car entered the hangar, slowing down to hit the ramp into the jet. The car lurched up the ramp and stopped just in front of the holo table.

“We're in baby.” He said to her, jumping out of the driver seat and sprinting to the controls. Angela felt the jet take off, flying out of the hangar as the Talon jet caught up to them.

She could hear shots hitting the side of the jet, not doing much to the titanium plating before Jack, clear of the hangar, revved the engines and pulled away at high speed. 

Lena came over the comm, “Need a hand, loves?”

“I need to get to Angela!” Jack yelled, “Can you remote pilot this thing?”

“Already on it.” Lena said, “Make sure she's ok.”

Jack jumped out of his seat and went back to the car, leaning the driver seat forward so he could pull Angela out. She cried out as he looped an arm around her chest, trying to avoid her injuries. He hefted her out, carrying her to one of the seats before going back for Bren, who was still screaming.

Angela looked over her injuries. Nothing critical, but she needed her staff to stem the bleeding. Jack came out of the car carrying her Caduceus in one hand and Bren, covered by his blanket in the other. He handed her her staff so she could heal her wounds while he sat down with Bren, trying to calm his son.

Angela sighed as the nanites went to work, easing her pain as the wounds healed.

“Angela!” Jack yelled, causing her to jump up and rush to him and her son.

She saw something she had missed in the dark car.

There was a hole in the leg of his pajamas, blood darkening the blue fabric. Angela pulled his pants off, inspecting the area, wiping away the blood. Bren had already healed the wound, a small pink circle of new skin the only indication it had ever been.

“Looks like he caught one of the shotgun pellets. He seems to be fine though.” She sighed, thankful for her son's ability to heal so quickly.

Jack leaned back into his chair with a sigh, tucking Bren into his chest.

“We're lucky that was a short range jet. We may have been in trouble if it had been something more powerful.” He said to her, “Are you ok?”

Angela sat down next to him, “I'm fine. I took three shots but nothing vital. I already took care of it.”

Jack nodded, the pair of them sitting in silence, Bren's sniffs falling away as he fell asleep in his father's arms.


	16. Chapter 16

“I need to grab something. We're going to stop for a bit, ok?” Jack said a couple of hours later into the comm.

“Handing the controls over to you.” Lena said, “Just be quick about it.”

“I will be. I'll call you when we're done.” Jack said.

Angela turned to him from the copilot's chair, Bren sleeping in her arm, hands fisted into her shirt, not wanting to let go even in sleep, “What's going on?”

“I need to stop by my parent's place.” He said.

“Why would we need to do that? Talon's after us!” Angela asked, fear tinging her voice.

Jack sat back in his chair, running his hands through his hair, “They've got all my military records in the attic. There's some information on the Super Soldier project in there. This is the best time to grab it as we're passing through so you can have the records.”

Angela let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, “Alright. That would be invaluable information to have. We can't stay for more than 20 minutes though.”

“I know, meine geliebte. If I thought we'd ever be in the area again soon I wouldn't do it now but I don't plan on coming back to America.” Jack sighed, grabbing the controls and dropping altitude.

As they dropped below the clouds, Angela could see pin pricks of light here and there but it was obvious that this was a very rural area. She couldn't see much in the darkness, the sky to the east just barely lightening with the dawn, but she could imagine the endless fields that carpeted the area. She still had her Valkyrie suit on, wings folded down for the moment but she had changed out of her blood soaked pajamas, cleaning Bren up a bit and getting him some new bottoms from their bag.

It had nearly stopped her heart when she saw that hole in his little leg. It truly was amazing, the amount that his body could heal unaided. Jack's military and medical records should yield some information, even if much of the details were redacted. It would be something. 

“They should be getting up about now.” Jack told her, zeroing in on a single set of lights, “Farm life starts early.”

Angela nodded, adjusting Bren in her arms to lay on her shoulder so she could carry him. She looked out, seeing a single light on in the house they were landing in front of.

Jack powered down the jet, grabbing his rifle as he stood and kissing Angela's temple, glad that they were all ok. They walked down the ramp of the jet, seeing the front door of the house open as a dog barked at them.

Jack saw his father come out of the house, walking towards them, stopping dead in his tracks when he got close enough to see who it was in the darkness.

“Jack?” He said in shock.

Jack walked up to him, pulling his father in for a hug, “Yeah dad. It's me. I'm sorry.”

Angela stood back, letting the two of them have the moment, remembering how shocked she had been.

His father looked up, tears in his eyes, “It's so good to see you again, Jack.” He said before noticing Angela, “Is this him?”

“Yes.” Angela said, “We need to get inside though. We can't stay long.”

“Of course.” John said, motioning them into the house.

It was a beautiful old farm house, several stories visible in the pale dawn. 

Jacks father jogged ahead, opening the door for them, “Deb, come here!” He called into the house.

Jack walked inside, Angela following close behind when she heard a screech and saw Jack's mother tackle her son, sobbing.

“Oh my boy. My boy you're home!” She cried, holding him as tight as she could.

“I know Momma. I'm so sorry.” He told her, kissing her head as he held her.

“May I see him?” John asked, next to Angela.

“Of course.” She told him with a warm smile, shifting Bren into her arms, pulling the blanket down.

John looked at the boy with a smile, “He's the spitting image of you.” He said to his son.

“I know. He's perfect.” Jack said, his mother pulling away to see her grandson.

Jack watched, a brief window of happiness, as Angela handed his sleeping son to his mother who cuddled him close. But he knew they didn't have time.

“Dad.” He said, “I need to get my records out of the attic. Angela needs them.”

John nodded, “Of course. Anything you need.”

Jack jogged off up the stairs.

“He's so beautiful Angela.” Deb cooed over her grandson.

Angela smiled, “I'm glad you could finally meet him, even if it's only for a few minutes.”

“Can you tell us what's going on?” John asked worriedly.

Angela sighed, “We had been hiding out in Seattle for the last few months but Talon found us. We barely escaped.” She told them, sparing the details.

“Where will you go now?” Deb fretted.

“I can't tell you that. I don't want you to end up mixed up in this.” She said sadly.

Silence fell over the entry way, everyone feeling the danger of the situation.

“Well do you have time for a cup of coffee before you're on your way?” Deb asked, offering Angela a kind smile.

“That would be heavenly.” Angela sighed, taking her son back so Deb could work.

The jostling back and forth was starting to wake Bren up, wiggling in his mothers arms as she sat at the kitchen table before blearily opening his eyes.

“Momma?” He mummbled, looking around the strange place.

“It's alright, meine liebe. We're at grandma and grandpa's house.” She told him as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

Bren looked around, his grandparents smiling at him, taking everything in before sliding off his mother's lap. He toddled over to Deb, having spotted the cinnamon rolls she had left out for breakfast that morning. He pointed up at the sweet treat, grabbing his grandmother's pant leg.

“One?” He asked enthusiastically.

Deb nearly cried again, nodding at the boy and grabbing a paper towel and handing him a roll. She finished up two cups of coffee and followed Bren as he walked back to his mother, beaming with pride over his treat. Deb handed Angela a cup and set the other at the empty seat, hearing Jack coming down the stairs.

“I can't believe this.” Deb said, trying to hold back the tears, “I feel like I'm dreaming. My son and my grandson home.”

Angela nodded, sipping at the delicious drink, “I'm sure it's quite a shock. I was quite shocked too when he showed back up.”

“Do you have a plan to keep yourselves safe?” John asked.

“Yes. We've got a plan laid out. I should be able to keep mailing you every few months, but I don't think we'll be able to come back for a long while.” She told them sadly.

“I wish I could have told you sooner, momma.” Jack said, coming into the kitchen, carrying two boxes in his arms.

“At least I know you're alive, sweetheart. You don't know how much that means to me.” Deb told him.

Jack set the boxes on the floor, taking a seat at the table, “We can only stay about five more minutes.” He told Angela, grabbing his cup.

“Alright.” She replied.

Deb suddenly jumped up, “I'll be right back.” She told them all, scurrying off up the stairs.

John shook his head at his wife before turning back to his son, “So where have you been, Jack?”

“I've been hiding out, traveling around the world, stopping wherever there was trouble and doing what I could to help. No one knew who I was.” Jack explained, “I had no idea about Angela's pregnancy or Bren.”

Bren looked up at his father when he said his name, smiling brightly, face covered in cinnamon and icing.

“Well I'm glad you found them.” John said, “Keep them safe.”

Jack looked at Angela and his son, “That's the plan, dad.”

Deb cam running back into the room, “I found it.” She said holding out a stuffed bear to Angela as Bren was rather sticky at the moment, “This was Jack's bear when he was a boy. I want Bren to have it.”

Angela's eyes teared up, looking over the well loved bear in her hands, “Thank you. I'm sure Bren will love it.”

“Angela.” Jack said, finishing off his coffee.

Angela nodded, “Alright baby, let's get you cleaned up.” She said, wiping away the remnants of the roll, “Give grandma and grandpa loves and kisses.”

Bren ran up to Deb who scooped him up. He gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before wiggling to get down. He ran over to John, hugging him round the middle as he sat in the chair.

“I know we don't see you, but we love you so much buddy.” John said, kissing the boy's hair.

Angela picked him up, saying her goodbyes and hugging Deb before moving to the door to let Jack give his parents a proper good by. She stepped out the door, the sun not quite over the horizon, a soft light illuminating the land. It really was beautiful here in it's own way. She walked up the ramp into the jet, hearing Jack coming out of the house behind her. She set Bren down in the jet, watching him wow at the Holo table. They had pushed the car out after unloading everything over the Rocky's so the jet was free of clutter and they could move freely.

Jack walked up the ramp, placing the boxes on the table before heading back up to the cockpit.

“Lena are you there?” He said into the comm, starting up the jet's engines.

“Gotcha loud and clear, love.” She responded.

“Do we have a destination yet?” Jack asked.

“Winston just radioed me. He's had Athena open up the old Overwatch bunker in Menorca. Should be secure.” Lena said.

“I've been there a couple of time. It should work.” Jack told her.

“Alright, setting course for Son Vitamina.”

Jack stood up as the jet, controlled by Lena, took off. 

“Can you grab my laptop?” Angela said, already looking through the first stack of papers.

“Sure thing.”

Bren was holding the bear, trying to climb up to get at the other plushies Lena had left on the shelf for him. Jack grabbed him round the middle, hefting him under one arm and grabbing the laptop from the duffel with the other.

“Here you go.” He said, leaving her to her work.

He took Bren with him into the cockpit, sitting his son on his lap and showing him the control.


	17. Chapter 17

Angela collapsed onto the dust couch with Bren, having finally reached the bunker. It was a decent sized hideout, having been used as a way point for Overwatch strike teams back in the day. Jack set the bags and boxes down, opening the breaker panel and flipping on the lights. Everything was solar powered so they didn't have to worry about electricity being cut off.

Jack flopped onto the couch next to them, “I think it needs a bit of cleaning.” He said looking around, “But we should be safe here.”

Angela hmm'd her agreement, eyes closing, Bren already asleep in her arms.

“Bunker locked down.” Athena said, coming over the intercom as the systems booted up, “Your safety is assured.”

“Thank you Athena. Tell Winston thank you as well.” Jack said, relaxing back into the couch, knowing his family was safe, at least for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright everyone. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I loved reading them all and I'm so glad you liked my story. I've decided to break it up so don't worry. I'm starting work on the sequel as we speak. It's going to jump several years into the future and take place around the Overwatch Recall. 

Loves!


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